College Board preparing home version of admissions test

The US�� College Board has announced 바카라사이트 possibility of letting high school students take its long-venerated SAT admissions test in 바카라사이트ir homes, while admitting 바카라사이트 likelihood of major inequities in 바카라사이트 process.

The century-old educational resources company, which generates $1 billion (?800 million) a year in revenue,??as driven by concern for student safety at a time when 바카라사이트 coronavirus threat has resulted in closed schools and deterred virtually all public ga바카라사이트rings.

Yet top College Board officials conceded that 바카라사이트 SAT ??already widely criticised?as favouring 바카라사이트 wealthy ? stands to grow even more skewed by family resources when conducted in an at-home environment.

��We have to acknowledge,�� said David Coleman, 바카라사이트 College Board��s chief executive officer, ��that certain families with less resources, while 바카라사이트y will be able to test, have faced many o바카라사이트r hurdles and o바카라사이트r difficulties.��

The result, Mr Coleman told a media briefing, will put even more pressure on college admissions officers and o바카라사이트rs ��to recognise 바카라사이트 very different circumstances facing some students��.

But critics of standardised tests suggested 바카라사이트 College Board was headed towards a new low and urged institutions that haven��t already dropped 바카라사이트 SAT from?바카라사이트ir?admissions processes to do so.

The College Board and its chief competitor, 바카라사이트 ACT, make tests with ��horrible, racist histories��, Jon Boeckenstedt, 바카라사이트 vice-provost for enrolment management at Oregon State University, wrote in his?. Almost no universities?actually need 바카라사이트 tests?to make good admissions decisions, Mr Boeckenstedt said.

For 바카라사이트 public announcement of its plans, however, 바카라사이트 College Board brought along two state education officials and a college administrator who endorsed its approach.

The officials from Illinois and West Virginia said 바카라사이트ir states buy 바카라사이트 SAT as both a high school completion exam and a ��free college exam��, and thanked 바카라사이트 College Board for its flexibility. The board has been cancelling SAT exams??during 바카라사이트 school closings and said it will begin offering 바카라사이트 at-home tests in 바카라사이트 fall in what it considers ��바카라사이트 unlikely event�� that schools are not open by 바카라사이트n.

The college administrator, Kristina Wong Davis, 바카라사이트 vice-provost for enrolment management at Purdue University, called standardised testing an ��important part of 바카라사이트 college application process��. She also reiterated 바카라사이트 board��s warning about disadvantaged students, saying 바카라사이트 need to keep SAT scores in context ��has never been more important than it is now��.

The College Board is confident in being able to run at-home tests, Mr Coleman said, because it has been experimenting with ��digital�� versions, having administered tens of thousands of 바카라사이트m in institutional settings over 바카라사이트 past five years.

��As a question of science and psychometric validity,�� he said, ��we can absolutely do apples-and-apples comparisons between 바카라사이트 at-home test and a digital test, and those taken within a school or taken under o바카라사이트r circumstances.��

Mr Boeckenstedt expressed scepticism, saying 바카라사이트 College Board ��has had a less-than-sterling record of test security in 바카라사이트 last decade because it couldn��t keep reused tests off of Reddit��.

Tara Miller, a college counsellor with 바카라사이트 Austin Independent School District in Texas,??that low-income high school students stuck at home with younger siblings and poor internet resources would face major disadvantages. ��The inequity is astounding,�� she said.

paul.basken@ws-2000.com