Baltimore City SAT scores (Oakland: private school, college, live in)

[lanhvtnymd]

Confirmation bias? Really, now.

Okay, can someone tell me how Baltimore City magically became a filter to keep all of the idiots and criminals in and the geniuses and do-gooders out? And why is the filter pulling geniuses and do-gooders back into the city again? Since we can't look to sociology, public policy, and just history in general had no real significant impact on the filter, inquiring minds want to know.

That makes no kind of sense whatsoever. #sorrynotsorry

[Zea mays]

Originally Posted by Hamish Forbes

... a graduate of Poly's "A Course" could get directly into the second year of engineering school at Hopkins, ...

Provided, of course, that the graduate was fortunate enough to have a Y chromosome.

[fibonacci]

I've mentored Baltimore high school students and it is sad to say that many of them have math skills that are borderline 3rd and 4th grade because teachers in Baltimore pass the buck to the next years teachers. If you ask them how many 10s go into 1000 or how many milliliters are in a liter they have no clue? Ever heard of scientific notation, power laws or work with logarithmic scales? They blanks. These kids are severely handicapped all due to reasons out of their control--****ty parents that don't care, a terrible environment that surrounds them 24/7, and crappy teachers that get burned out over the system. It really breaks your heart when you get a student that is very nice with a good heart that is living in a cesspool but wishes to go to college even though they have math skills on par with a 3rd grader. You know they'll never make it in a competitive college

[B.K.]

Baltimore City spends more per pupil (all pupils), than nearly any school system in the nation. And it just ain't working. SAT scores measure a student's level of college preparedness-the obscenely low scores garnered by City Schools' students prove that these needs are not being met. The idea is to keep test scores/pass rates high, at the expense of a student actually learning anything other than how to answer test questions given in specific formats. As mentioned above, the few students who graduate and go onto attend college require at least a year of remedial (read high-school introductory level) courses in math and English before they can begin to attempt college-level work.

The "teaching to the test" curriculum employed by so many teachers and administrators does not teach knowledge of a discipline, problem solving or encourage a lifelong love for learning. This is essentially the "No Child Left Behind" paradigm,( i.e., everyone gets passed along, whether they demonstrate competency or not, so the students and their parents can feel good about themselves) applied to higher education.

I blame incompetent, corrupt administrators like the hastily departed (and formerly much lauded) Dr. Andres Alonzo, who conveniently split town just before the grade-fixing scandal emerged (and was just as quickly swept under the rug), as well as the firmly entrenched North Avenue sine-cured paper pushers, and politically strong Teachers Union for ensuring that change will not occur.

[designer_genes]

Originally Posted by Tinawina

It's still not really supposed to be something you study for, though people do prep courses sometimes. But even those don't tend to move the needle a huge amount.

Based on personal experience, I disagree with this. The prep course I took while I was in high school raised my SAT score (combined math and reading) close to 400 points. There is something to be said for repetition and feeling prepared.

Originally Posted by mpheels

I'm not at all trying to deny the state of the city's schools. I'm saying that average SAT scores are not a good measure. What you posted regarding remedial classes in college is far more meaningful.

Agree. Wholeheartedly. Standardized tests are stupid. Really stupid. And are basically indicative of nothing. There are a whole host of other factors you can point to regarding the failure of the city's public schools that would pique my interest a lot more than average SAT score.

Originally Posted by baltplanner

Relative intelligence is an inherited trait.... and there's plenty of research out there demonstrating the aggregate positive relationship between intelligence and achievement.

An inconvenient reality. While there are obviously a lot of genetic and non-genetic factors involved in intelligence, the fact remains that the greatest predictor of a child's IQ is still the IQ of the child's parents.

But, the SAT is definitely not the best measure of intelligence.

Originally Posted by B.K.

I really and truly feel that it's time for those of us who were so endowed to stop apologizing for being born white, male, middle-class or better products of a stable, two parent-family who placed a high value on education. I for one count myself fortunate and suffer no "privilege guilt" at all.

There is a difference between feeling guilty of your privilege and acknowledging it. I was also born white and middle class to a "stable" (although I think equating stable to two parents is faulty logic) family who places a high value on education. Am I sorry about it? Absolutely not. I am grateful every day. But, do I acknowledge that there are others that are not as fortunate as I have been? You bet I do. No one is asking white/straight/male/Christian/wealthy/etc people to apologize for their privilege. They are simply being asked to acknowledge that it is indeed privilege.

[Zea mays]

They are simply being asked to acknowledge that it is indeed privilege.

More a case of genetics rather than privilege, luck of the draw, whatever.

[Hamish Forbes]

Originally Posted by Zea mays

Provided, of course, that the graduate was fortunate enough to have a Y chromosome.

Rather than post yet another snide comment, you might have checked into the history of Eastern and Western high schools, which were the counterparts of Poly and City for females.

I don't remember that much about Eastern, but I do recall that Western had an "A Course" called something like "advanced college prep." The Western "A Course" was set up with the help of Goucher in the 1930s, and placed just about 100% of its graduates into respectable four-year colleges.

[EdwardA]

Originally Posted by mpheels

SAT scores are not a good metric for assessing an entire school district. IMO, it is even a good way of predicting if an individual student will succeed in college. Does every student in the city take the SAT? The test is only necessary and appropriate for students who are planning to attend college. If a student is planning to attend a trade school or work after graduation, they do not need to take the SAT, and they are not probably not going to put the in the hours needed to prep for the test. If you really look at school districts with high SAT scores, you will find that many students are hiring private tutors to help with test prep. At the very least, they are buying test prep books (which are not cheap!). The real measure of school quality should be if students who go to college are prepared to complete college level work, and if students who enter the work force have the skills they need to work.

This is a canard that gets a lot of traction. It is well documented that SAT prep yields on average a 20-40 point improvement. So using prep isn't going to dramatically change the outcome.

Also Blacks use prep more on a percentage basis than Whites.

[EdwardA]

Keep in mind folks the Baltimore SAT average is lower than the Black national average.

[EdwardA]

Originally Posted by P47P47

That's something that has certainly changed since I took the SAT 40 years ago. At that time, our teachers and guidance councilors told us, "It's not the kind of test you can study for. Just get a good night's sleep the night before the test and have some breakfast that morning. And be sure to have at least three sharp #2 pencils."

The SAT was more g loaded back in your day. The test has significantly moved from aptitude to achievement in a vain attempt to help certain groups.