Girls Achieve Rare SAT Scores

While the average reading and math scores on the SAT fell again this year, the test results showed a new gain for girls.

For the first time in a generation, girls outperformed boys on one section of the exam, edging them out by 11 points on the writing portion of the test. The results raise new questions about gender, learning and a test that has become an American rite of passage.

"Since the '70s, we haven't seen women score better than men on the SAT, so that is dramatic … absolutely," said Drew Deutsch, a vice president at Princeton Review, which offers preparation courses for the test.

The test results released Tuesday were the first batch of SAT scores since the exam was revamped to include a graded 25-minute essay. High school junior Ana Merida, who is studying for the test now, said she believes the new test plays to her strengths.

"I can look at the question I am being asked and put my own knowledge and thoughts in the essay, rather than … filling out a bubble," Merida said.

And the essay may be something that may benefit all girls. Neuroscientists say, in general, that girls' brains may be better wired for the demands of open-ended essay questions than those of their male counterparts.

"They tend to have better attention spans, and that is something that the essay question demands," said Dr. Jay Selman at the Columbia University Medical Center. "The essay question also demands a lot of organizational skills -- these arise in large part from the frontal lobe."

And girls tend to perform better on tasks that use that part of the brain.

"Placed in a situation where they have to make a decision, they are going to think about the possibilities and ruminate a little bit more than boys," Deutsch said.

But these qualities are not necessarily an advantage on the rest of the SAT, which brings a barrage of multiple-choice questions for which there is little time to ruminate. And despite the gain for girls this year on one part of the test, boys still score 26 points higher overall.

Ironically, the SAT was designed to help predict how students would do in college. But while boys still score higher on the tests, girls get better college grades.

The New SAT Explained

For parents who took the SAT 30 years ago, the new “perfect score” of 2400 may seem confusing. The SAT used to be comprised of two sections: critical reading, commonly called the verbal section, and mathematics. Each section yielded a range of scores from 200 to 800. This meant a “perfect score” on the SAT was a 1600 for many decades.

In 2005, a new section was added to the test. Taken from what was once the SAT II exam, the writing section is divided into short answer and essay portions. The section is additionally now worth anywhere from 200 to 800 points.

Today, the SAT is longer than it used to be. The critical reading portion is broken into sections totaling 70 minutes. Mathematics also totals 70 minutes. The writing portion of the exam is only allotted 60 minutes.

Once common area of confusion is how this portion of the exam is scored. It is hand-graded by a board of graders who compare the answers to others given that day. The answers are compared in areas such as logic, organization and strength of thesis. Smaller errors such as grammar and spelling are not graded, although usage and vocabulary should be appropriate. The graders will compare all the essays submitted and give the best essays highest scores. This means the same essay may be assessed at a different level on two different days.

While this may seem unfair, the SAT score has always been a comparative score. Depending on the average score received in a particular day, you may generate a different score for the same number of right answers. This is because the test questions vary tremendously. To protect a student from losing points because a particular test was harder than another, all students are graded on a scale compared to individuals taking the same test.

Some Colleges Opting Out of the SAT ‘Score Choice’ Option

I recently answered the question "should I cancel my SAT score?" with information regarding the upcoming Score Choice option on the SAT. To refresh, the SAT used to require that all scores from every test administration be sent to colleges. With Score Choice, students are permitted to send only the scores of their choosing to colleges. In other words, they may choose to send only their top combined score, and the university would never see the lower scores.

However, this idealism seems to have changed.

It has now become clear that colleges can opt out of Score Choice, and require that applicants report every SAT score. Newsweek has indicated that Stanford, Cornell, Pomona, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Southern California will demand all scores. Other schools, including Harvard and the University of Chicago, say they will honor Score Choice. Many more, such as Yale and Princeton, say they have yet to decide.

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This may be disappointing news for several students who believed Score Choice to be the cure of test taking anxiety. However, remember that the playing field has not really changed. Just because certain schools are requiring all reports does not mean that having lower scores will necessarily preclude you from admission; colleges still view the entire application -- scores included -- in totality. All this means is that when you decide to take the SAT, you should be ready for it.

Reader Question: Will One Bad Semester Kill Me?

Reader and high school senior Gigi has submitted a college admissions question likely shared by many students in her position:

during my senior year in high school (last year), my parents decided that they wanna move to bakersfield, [California]... and that decision pretty much just ruined my senior year in high school... my grades dropped... my GPA was, i think, about 2.0... or even lower... not sure...

i was a complete stranger in a new school, with no friends whatsoever... it really affected my life and grades...

i'm wondering if i'm even eligible for college...

Terrific question, Gigi.

Remember that college admissions committees are not full of robots. They are real people who genuinely want to work with you to help you succeed. Since you had a tough senior year in high school, that is something you will want to address in your personal statement. Talk about the difficulties associated with moving to a new place, and then explain that you feel that you are ready to return to your academics and excel again. If you discuss your situation exactly as you have in your letter, the admissions officers will understand.

Remember that it's not about making excuses or casting blame, but rather persuading the admissions officers to believe that one semester or one year of grades does not accurately reflect your abilities as a student. Then, tell your story and why you believe you're ready to overcome the difficulties you had.

If you are not able to get accepted by any of your preferred California state colleges, remember that community college is always a viable option. If you finish two years, and do reasonably well, you could transfer to a California State University without having to take the SAT or ACT. You could also look into some of the admissions programs offered by the Universities of California (UCs) including the Transfer Admissions Guarantees of UCs Davis, Irvine, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz, or the similar Transfer Alliance Program of UCLA. Each offer either guaranteed admission or priority consideration if you transfer from a participating community college. Many other states have similar transfer programs as well.

Best of all, you'll save money (community colleges are way cheaper than universities) and in the end, it won't be any different than if you had gotten into your college of choice in the first place. Your diploma will say only the school you transferred to.

The most important thing is to stay calm and keep perspective. Just because you had one less-than-stellar year does not mean your opportunities are lost forever. I would recommend calling a few local community colleges to ask about their transfer programs. They will be able to make some recommendations for what you should look into initially.

Good luck!

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Finding the Best Test Prep Company

The SAT and ACT, complimented by SAT II Subject Tests and Advanced Placement (AP) Exams, may be the most important components in the college application process.

Learning on your own and giving yourself assignments is sometimes the most effective preparation method.

However, qualified tutors, capable of identifying students’ strengths and weaknesses, and building lessons accordingly, can greatly improve one's score.

This blog is dedicated to identifying the best (and the worst) tutoring and test prep companies in New York City.