Education Week - March 12, 2014 - 15

must take responsibility for the "unintended
consequences" of how the
SAT asks students to write on the
current test. Since there is no shared
source material, he notes, evaluation
of the essay is only on the writing and
not the quality of the reasoning or the
accuracy of the examples.
"But that's not how we all work in
the world of college and career, where
every day we analyze source materials
and understand the claims and
supporting evidence," he said.
The vocabulary section is also getting
a big makeover. In its overview,
the College Board acknowledged that
the current SAT is "focused on words
that are sometimes obscure and not
widely used in college and career."
The revamped vocabulary section
will focus more on relevant language
students might actually use.
That change will also level the
playing field, Ms. Jago argues.
"What it rewards is not test prep,
but wide reading," she said.
The 'Heart of Algebra'
In math, the new exam will nar-
row its focus to three areas the
College Board deems essential
to success in college and careers:
problem-solving and data-analysis
(using ratios, percentages, and proportional
reasoning to solve problems
in real-world scenarios); the
"heart of algebra" (focusing on mastery
of linear equations and systems);
and what the College Board
calls a "passport to advanced math."
That last section will emphasize
the math needed to pursue further
study and careers in the STEM fields
of science, technology, engineering,
and math, Mr. Coleman said. It will
examine students' familiarity with
more complex equations and the
manipulation they require.
Also, he explained the rationale
for no longer allowing a calculator
for all math questions. "The noncalculator
section makes it easier for the
SAT to assess students' understanding
of [mathematical] ideas," Mr. Coleman
said. "It rewards well-learned
technique, fluency with calculation,
and number sense."
That decision parallels plans by
the two main common-core-testing
consortia to allow calculators only
on certain portions of their exams.
Some observers wonder how the
big-picture explanation of the math
changes will look in practice.
"I'm interested in getting a better
understanding of [it]," said Ms. Theokas
of the Education Trust. "It sounds
like they are really simplifying the
math. I'm curious how that translates
into types of questions and the content
kids are going to have to learn in
high school to be college-ready."
Looking ahead, the "devil is in the
details" as to whether the rhetoric
will match the actual test, said
Steve Syverson, a board member of
the National Association for College
Admission Counseling and a former
dean of admissions at Lawrence
University, in Appleton, Wis.
For now, Mr. Syverson said, he remains
a bit cynical.
"I feel the College Board operates
and talks about something in a positive
way, but part of its motivation is
market share," he said. "If it's not window
dressing, this is good stuff. How it
plays out we won't know for a while."
Staff Writer Benjamin Herold
contributed to this article.
Special coverage on the alignment
between K-12 schools and postsecondary
education is supported in part by a grant
from the Lumina Foundation, at www.
luminafoundation.org. Education Week
retains sole editorial control over the
content of this coverage.
SIDE BY SIDE: A LOOK AT THE SAT AND THE COMMON CORE
The College Board has provided an outline of key changes to the SAT, effective in 2016.
Below is a College Board summary of the current and redesigned exam,
and an Education Week analysis providing relevant material in the
Common Core State Standards.
ANALYSIS
Current SAT
Citing
Evidence
"Reading and writing sections
do not require students to
cite evidence. Students select
answers to demonstrate their
understanding of texts but are
not asked to support
their answers."
Source
Documents
"Source documents do not
represent a wide range of
academic disciplines. While
many different types of text
might appear on any SAT,
there is no requirement that
students encounter scientific
or historical sources."
Vocabulary
"Vocabulary focused on
words that are sometimes
obscure and not widely
used in college and
career. These words, while
interesting and useful in
specific instances, often
lack broad utility in varied
disciplines and contexts."
Writing
an Essay
"The essay measures
students' ability to construct
an argument based on
their background and
experiences. Since students
are not given source
material, there is no way
to verify the accuracy of their
argument or examples."
Math
Coverage
"Math section samples
content from a wide range
of high school-level math.
There are often only one or
two questions on each topic
and students need to cover
a great deal of math to be
prepared for all topics."
Hispanics 56 percent. And for
those adults lacking a high school
diploma, just 28 percent have
broadband at home.
Mr. Coleman said the College
Board will invest in partnerships
with schools, public libraries, afterschool
programs, and Boys & Girls
Clubs to help make sure there
is equitable access to the Khan
Academy resources. Mr. Khan,
meanwhile, emphasized that his
organization's online resources
work best when a "great teacher,
coach, or parent is involved as a
stakeholder," helping students absorb
and make use of the feedback
they receive.
Mr. Coleman and Mr. Khan told
reporters that the new marriage
"happened quickly" and will not
involve any exchange of money
between the two organizations.
FairTest, an advocacy group
critical of the SAT, questioned
whether the new relationship will
have its intended effect.
"The partnership with the
Khan Academy is unlikely to
make a dent in the huge market
for high-priced, personalized
SAT workshops and tutoring that
only well-to-do families can af-
ford," said Robert A. Schaeffer,
FairTest's public education director,
in a statement.
Some critics also said the College
Board seemed to be sending
conflicting signals by promising
an exam that would not encourage
cramming and test-taking
"tricks," even while it offers a testprep
program.
In any case, Mr. Coleman was
enthusiastic about the plans.
"The College Board has never
before entrusted our name to an
external organization to ensure
the materials students encounter
are faithfully aligned to the
challenges of our assessment,"
Mr. Coleman said in his prepared
remarks. "May I simply
say, [Khan Academy's] work
is beautiful, and based on evidence
of what most accelerates
students' learning."
Special coverage on the alignment
between K-12 schools and
postsecondary education is supported
in part by a grant from the
Lumina Foundation, at
www.luminafoundation.org.
Education Week retains sole editorial
control over the content of this coverage.
Calculators
"Calculator permitted for full
math section. It is difficult
to assess students' sense
of numbers, their fluency in
calculation, and their ability
understand concepts rather
than plug in the answers."
Analyzing
Text and
Data
"Reading and writing does
not require data analysis.
The reading and writing
section does not often
include passages from science
and social studies with graphs
and tables; questions rarely
require students to both read
text and analyze data."
Historical
Documents
"Source documents drawn
from texts that are not
widely recognized and
publicly available.
Students have no idea
before they take the test
what the reading
passages will be about."
Redesigned SAT
"Evidence-based reading and
writing. Students will support
answers with evidence,
including questions that
require them to cite a specific
part of a passage to support
their answer choice."
"Source documents originate
from a wide range of academic
disciplines. On every SAT,
students will encounter source
texts from science, history, and
social studies, analyzing them
the way they would in those
classes."
"Vocabulary focused on
words that are widely used in
college and career. The exam
will focus on words such as
"synthesis" and "empirical"
whose specific meaning
depends on the context."
"The essay measures
students' ability to analyze
evidence and explain how an
author builds an argument
to persuade an audience.
Responses will be evaluated
based on the strength of
the analysis as well as the
coherence of the writing."
"Math section draws from
fewer topics that evidence
shows most contribute to student
readiness for college and
career training. Students can
study these core math areas
in depth and have confidence
that they will be assessed."
"Calculator permitted on
certain portions of the math
section. The calculator can be
used where most appropriate,
but the no-calculator section
allows greater assessment of
students' understanding,
fluency, and technique."
"Students asked to analyze
both text and data in real world
contexts, including identifying
and correcting inconsistencies
between the two. Students will
show the work they do throughout
their classes by reading
science articles and historical
and social studies sources."
"Each exam will include a
passage drawn from the
Founding [U.S.] Documents or
the Great Global Conversation.
Students read from either a
founding document such as the
Declaration of Independence
or from the conversation they
inspire in the United States
and around the world, such as
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address or
King's 'I Have a Dream' speech."
Incorrect
Answers
"Scoring deducts points for
incorrect answers. Students
get ¼ point deducted for
incorrect answers; no points
deducted for omitted answers."
SOURCE: College Board, Education Week
EDUCATION WEEK | March 12, 2014 | www.edweek.org | 15
Scoring does not deduct
points for incorrect answers.
Students are encouraged
to select the best answer to
every question.
Common Core
Citing specific "textual evidence" when
interpreting material is a key thread of the
common core. In the introduction, the English/
language arts standards say college- and
career-ready students "value evidence."
It says, "Students cite specific evidence
when offering an oral or written interpretation
of a text."
The common core calls for teaching literacy
across the curriculum. The English/language
arts standards specifically highlight the
teaching of reading, writing, and other
literacy objectives in science, history/social
studies, and technical subjects.
Students should develop "extensive vocabularies,
built through reading and study," the
standards say. They should "determine or
clarify the meaning of unknown and multiplemeaning
words and phrases by using context
clues," and "acquire and use accurately
general academic and domain-specific words
and phrases ... at the college and career
readiness level."
The writing section says students "must
take task, purpose, and audience into
careful consideration, choosing words,
information, structures, and formats
deliberately. ... They have to become adept
at gathering information, evaluating sources,
and citing material accurately, reporting
findings from their research, and analysis
of sources in a clear and cogent manner."
A key priority of the math common core
is to cover fewer topics in greater depth.
Also, the document says, "The high school
standards specify the mathematics that all
students should study in order to be college
and career ready."
Students should "use appropriate tools
strategically," the math standards say.
Proficient students use "technological tools
to explore and deepen their understanding
of concepts." (Both of the two main
test-development consortia plan to allow
calculators on some portions of their exams.)
Students should gain knowledge from
"challenging" scientific and technical texts
that "often make extensive use of elaborate
diagrams and data to convey information
and illustrate concepts." They must be able
to read such texts "with independence and
confidence because the vast majority of
reading in college and workforce training
programs will be sophisticated nonfiction."
The grades 9-10 reading standards call
for students to "analyze seminal U.S.
documents of historical and literary
significance (e.g., Washington's Farewell
Address, the Gettysburg Address, Roosevelt's
Four Freedoms speech, King's 'Letter from
Birmingham Jail'), including how they
address related themes and concepts." A
companion standard for grades 11-12 calls
for reading "foundational U.S. documents,"
including the Declaration of Independence.
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Education Week - March 12, 2014

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