SAT scores flat in Georgia, nation. Too few kids taking higher-level courses? (Atlanta: top school, colleges)

[residinghere2007]

Honestly, I don't see why so many focus primarily on SAT. Many studies have shown that it is not an end all predictor of college success. GPA is more of a predictor than SAT.

Also children of parents who make more money do better on SAT, this is a fact so if you want your kid to do well on it, it would be better just to make a higher than average income and send them to a good SAT Prep course.

I'm sure all of the schools above me are find schools, but really it is disheartening that so many people focus on these test as if they will be the primary factor in college admissions. Students have many strengths and weaknesses that cannot be measured by any standardized test and even though I am a proponent of being proficient in core subjects - especially math, reading and writing, I just do not get the obsession of people in regards to this test.

I took it in high school, along with ACT and did above average. And now-a-days most top colleges do not even put a lot of weight into it since the study by UC Berkley a few years ago that showed it had no correlation to college success. I have younger, high school aged family members, about 3 are looking at college right now and we have been to college fairs and one of them is interested in Ivy leagues. When we spoke to a Harvard admission rep, they said that they look for students who score in the top 10% of their class in regards to academic readiness and that SAT or ACT is looked at but that the top 10% are the students who have the work ethic to be successful in college. They have the drive to work hard and want to achieve over a longer period of time versus students who do test prep then cram for SAT or ACT.

Also essays are of primary importance and community service/activities. Basically - well rounded candidates and not test freaks (like myself I might add as I am a weirdo and actually love standardized test because I just find them fascinating and very easy to crack once you take a good prep course). So if GA students are scoring in the "average" range, I don't really see a problem with that. If they were severely below average, it would be an issue, but average is average and even though it took me a long time to come to this mindset (I am a test freak and was a crazy academic in school and obsessive about getting good grades - I was a TAG student though and most of my classmates were weirdos like me lol) about my own kids - that they don't have to be crazy academics like I was, that if they know the basic stuff and can get a "B" average, then it is okay.

[tandons2374]

aries4118 Are you only including Cobb , Fulton & Forsyth only ? Thanks . Good job

Food for thought: Can we hold the schools solely for these SAT scores? For SAT mostly kids join some coaching classes. How big is that factor vs school attended . The score can be a result of outside help. What does everyone think?

[tandons2374]

residinghere2007 I just posted the same thing . I agree. A question : How do colleges determine whether you are in top 10% of your class.
Which one is a good prep course?
I can vote for essays & community service. My nephew is studying at Cornell & he did a lot of that.

[ChefRamsey]

Originally Posted by residinghere2007

Honestly, I don't see why so many focus primarily on SAT. Many studies have shown that it is not an end all predictor of college success. GPA is more of a predictor than SAT.

That's not true. You need to look at studies about higher education. A GPA from my high school is a joke. A 3.4 GPA from Northview = 4.5 at my high school


SAT is the best predictor of college and student success. Higher ed scholars research this stuff. They don't just make it up


SAT is ONE standardized predictor of student success. There is a correlation between high SAT score and student graduation, retention and outcome, hence it being used in ranking criteria. Smart kids do smart things. Who would've thunk it

[residinghere2007]

Originally Posted by tandons2374

residinghere2007 I just posted the same thing . I agree. A question : How do colleges determine whether you are in top 10% of your class.
Which one is a good prep course?
I can vote for essays & community service. My nephew is studying at Cornell & he did a lot of that.

Class rank is used to determine the top 10%. The rep told us they look at that percentage but told my little cousin, who wants to go to Harvard that he should aim for 5% or better.

Ironically, it is easier for academic freaks like him (he is a lot like I used to be lol) to go to a so called "bad school" and blow the other kids out the water and be in the top 1-2% of the class rank. I went to a regular high school but had a GPA over 5.0 due to AP classes so was in the top 1% of my class rank (I just missed being salutatorian but I was happy since I didn't have to give a speech at graduation, I was a nervous public speaker at the time) and I rarely even studied in high school. I graduated with over a 3.5 for college as well so even though I didn't score in the 90th percentile on ACT or SAT - I was about 75th to 80th, I still succeeded in college.

An aunt of mine lives in TX and told me that many top TX universities now take the top 10% of all high school classes and provide them scholarships and that many people who sent their kids to schools similar in nature to the high schools promoted around here in E. Cobb, N. Fulton, and Forsyth, could not get scholarships because the GPA and class rank was so competitive and parents thinking that they needed to ensure as much information was crammed into their kids' heads in these "good schools" so made sure to send the kids there initially. After this scholarship initiative went into effect, parents started sending their kids to lower performing schools so the kids could get a scholarship more easily.

[residinghere2007]

Originally Posted by ChefRamsey

That's not true. You need to look at studies about higher education. A GPA from my high school is a joke. A 3.4 GPA from Northview = 4.5 at my high school


SAT is the best predictor of college and student success. Higher ed scholars research this stuff. They don't just make it up


SAT is ONE standardized predictor of student success. There is a correlation between high SAT score and student graduation, retention and outcome, hence it being used in ranking criteria. Smart kids do smart things. Who would've thunk it

There was a study done by UC Berkeley, which I mentioned in my post, that showed that SAT is not a sole determinant in college success, which is what I am referencing - that SAT by itself is not a predictor of college success, you evidently agree with me so don't understand the eye rolls.

Also, many top schools are going the 10% route due to GPA combined with a decent SAT score is a good predictor of success in college.

The information you mentioned in your first paragraph is the reason that a lot of schools do not put SAT as the primary factor for admission. Different students in different districts can be taught at varying levels. I actually do believe SAT is a good reflection of what a student has learned thus far in his/her academic career, but IMO if a student scores low, that often means that their education from K-12 was lacking, not that they cannot learn or do well on a college level so it is a correlation moreso between the educational system in our state as a whole versus being proof that an individual student should not go to a particular college.

Smart kids in all schools do smart things. They are dedicated in learning and getting the most from their schools as they can. I don't see the difference in a smart kid in your school being better than a smart kid in a school that underperforms. If anything, due to the culture at the underperforming school, I would see that smart kid as "better" since they don't have the benefit of focusing primarily on academics. They have more distractions and stresses in their school environments. Many of them may not have educated parents who know the importance of doing well in school - yet the kid with the 4.5 at the "bad school" still strives for the 4.5 and to many college admissions counselors, that stands for something. You cannot teach a child focus, determination, drive, or character and smart kids in challenging environments probably have more of all of those than a similarly situated smart kid in a more academically rigorous environment.

[tandons2374]

Where can we see the class rank? I have my daughter in grade 7 & have not seen it till now.

[residinghere2007]

Originally Posted by tandons2374

Where can we see the class rank? I have my daughter in grade 7 & have not seen it till now.

You would need to contact the school. They should have that information and if she has a counselor, you should ask the counselor her rank based on how many students are in her class.

My son is a 6th grader and they only have 24 kids in his 6th grade class for the whole school. He has an average of 89% out of 100% and there are 4 other kids whose average is better than his so he is in the top 20% academically in his class.

[tandons2374]

ok. From middle school onwards there is no class as such. All the students take different classes/ courses like regular or advanced placement in all the subjects and so is in high school So do they see how many students have taken that subject & calculate it for each subject. I would be thankful if you could explain it to me.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by tandons2374

aries4118 Are you only including Cobb , Fulton & Forsyth only ? Thanks . Good job

Food for thought: Can we hold the schools solely for these SAT scores? For SAT mostly kids join some coaching classes. How big is that factor vs school attended . The score can be a result of outside help. What does everyone think?

I just copied that from another blog. Not promoting anything. The list just stops at Parkview.

On the list I posted there are schools in Cobb, Fulton, Fayette, Forsyth, DeKalb, and Cherokee.