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See the interview and article quoting Beth Thornton about recent decisions regarding the STAAR tests here:

AISD discusses deferring STAAR scores: kxan.com

The scores of the STAAR tests will eventually be incorporated into the final grades of high school students, thus affecting GPA’s, school standing and college entrance. Because this program has been rolled out without full consideration of student preparation and district accountability, many educators, families and students do not feel as though students’ end-of-year school grades should reflect the STAAR test scores this year. The schools, as outlined in the launching of this program, get a ratings pass this year to work out the kinks in the STAAR assessments. The students, as originally planned, do not.

The decision to defer mandating that 15% of a student’s year-end grade in core classes be based on performance on the STAAR tests is expected to be announced soon. The 15% rule will then affect students’ end-of-year exams for high school students starting 9th and 10th grade in the 2012-2013 school year.

The creators and administrators of the SAT have changed their policies in recent years. Previously, students had to submit all of their SAT score reports to colleges. Now, students can choose their best SAT score report to submit to colleges. This has its advantages and disadvantages. The most obvious advantage is that students can take the test as many times as they would like to get the best possible score. It also often pays off for the diligent student aiming for a high score, but its disadvantages are that this practice can be costly and time-consuming.

Score Choice allows students to report results from only those SAT test dates the student chooses, rather than reporting all test results.The top 10 colleges, as listed by US News & World Report, are Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Stanford, University of Pennsylvania, California Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dartmouth, and Duke.

Most of the top 10 schools oppose Score Choice. Four schools (Yale, Columbia, Stanford, and University of Pennsylvania) absolutely prohibit Score Choice and require that applicants report all SAT scores. Cal Tech grudgingly allows it, but “strongly encourages” students to report all scores. Dartmouth also allows Score Choice, but encourages students to send all SAT scores. MIT seems to take the same stance. This is because the vast majority of schools will consider the top scores on each section, across all test administrations. In other words, colleges may mix a great math score from one test with a great verbal score from another test and a great writing score from a third test. This near-universal practice means that student are usually better off reporting many tests.

The Princeton Review has just released its 2012 Best Value colleges for public and private schools. It is no surprise to us, considering the great reputation that UT has, that it has made the list.

On first glance, some schools don’t seem as though they belong on the list because of their high tuition. The factors that are taken into consideration when compiling the list explain that, though. The Best Value list is primarily based on cost, financial aid, and academics.

If you are preparing for your PSAT, SAT, ACT, or GRE, this is a great app for your iPhone. This vocabulary app is FREE until February 15th, 2012 -check out VocabMatters!

The app features over 1,300 commonly tested vocabulary words and allows you to study them in flashcard mode or quiz mode. The flashcard mode has 5 different levels of difficulty, and the usage of each vocabulary word is demonstrated in a creative, often silly, sentence. The quiz mode is especially useful since people tend to learn and remember better when stakes like quizzes and tests are involved.

In increasing frequency, families are seeking support in preparation for the standardized tests that Texan public school students are required to take. We are proud of how we help students overcome test-taking anxieties and utilize the tools that we teach them, but we also see the frustration that is being expressed by parents and children about how a lot of time in school is spent preparing for these tests instead of learning new material. Even the TEA commissioner, Robert Scott, is expressing doubts about the new testing, calling it a “perversion of its original intent”.

The biggest difference between the STAAR test and the TAKS test is that now, students’ STAAR scores will be linked to graduation requirements and final grades. This does increase the pressure for students that already spend much of their school year testing. Mid-terms, quizzes, finals, AP exams, PSAT and SAT, and now STAAR make up a large portion of the year for many Juniors. Lower funding has also made the roll-out of this new test challenging; there are not enough materials or training to go around for all of the teachers in Texas. Schools and families alike are considering more extreme options like pulling their children from school on testing days or trying to rally support for schools to opt out completely.

What do you think about the cycle of standardized testing in Texas?

A new book has just been released declaring that research shows the SAT and ACT to be classist, sexist, and fundamentally discriminatory. “SAT Wars” by Joseph Soares, creates a case for more colleges to follow in the steps of Wake Forest University by making the SAT optional for admissions. Mr. Soares argues that the SAT does not reflect how well-rounded a student is, and that high school GPA is a more accurate measure of what students will be able to accomplish in college.

Rebecca Ruiz’s article about “SAT Wars” discusses how “Jay Rosner, executive director of The Princeton Review Foundation, addresses the gender gap on the SAT. Mr. Rosner asserts that the math portion of the test is “male-leaning,” citing data from 1998 and 2000 which found that men performed better than women on 97 percent of math test questions whereas women performed better than men on only .8 percent of them.” The gap in scores between students from upper and lower-income families has long reflected a disparity, but the fact that these tests are also so clearly gender biased is news.

Check out Anneli Rufus’ 15 tips for raising little geniuses. Her research offers ideas that are easy to implement at home and could really help your kids get ahead. From juggling to playing an instrument to waiting to eat a cookie after dinner, Anneli reports on a handful of ways that research has shown will give your children a cognitive advantage.

SAT strategy is a great help for students who are familiar with the test content and confident in what they do and do not know. Students who want higher than average scores have to prepare, study vocabulary, take practice tests and improve upon their math and deductive reading skills.

One of our tips in helping students prepare and practice for the Reading Comprehension section of the SAT is to be wary of answers that are mostly correct. Often, students are compelled to select an answer because some of the wording is directly quoted from the text, even if the rest of the answer does not really reflect the best response to the question being asked. Our advice is, if part of it is wrong, it’s all wrong.

Expert tutor, Elizabeth King, suggests in her SAT guide “Outsmarting the SAT” to cross out any part of an answer choice that does not answer the question or is just incorrect. That way, students can see that even though one answer may be more appealing because it echos language in the reading passage, it is the incorrect choice because it a part of it has been eliminated.

Delaying a child’s entry into kindergarten definitely offers a physical advantage over his or her peers when it comes to competing in athletics. As a trend that is becoming more popular lately, researchers are asking whether this approach also applies to academics. In the short term, the answer is ‘yes’. Redshirting, or delaying entry into school, provides a slight advantage in elementary school because students are more mature. But, by the time elementary school is completed, advantages are erased. In high school, redshirted children actually start to fall behind their peers in motivation and performance.

If academics are the priority, the greatest benefits come to students who start school at a younger age, and especially to those who may skip a grade early on. It is a long-lasting benefit for young children to be challenged to work as hard as the most mature student in the class. The redshirted child, in contrast, is often in the position of being the most mature child. When mainly working with students who are a little behind him in academics and maturity, there is very little opportunity for the redshirted child to be academically challenged.

High school seniors across the country are scrambling to visit colleges, take the SAT one last time, and write entrance essays before college application deadlines arrive. Most regular applications are due between January 1 and February 15. Students who have already selected the ONE, though, can apply Early Decision.

Applying Early Decision for your top choice college is your best bet at getting into your #1 pick. Statistics show that applying through ED rather than through general admission provides students with a significant advantage. The pool of applicants is no more competitive than that of general admission, but it is much smaller in scale, and the acceptance percentages are much higher.

ED applications usually have to be submitted by November, nearly two months sooner than general applications. Time management is key here: tour college campuses early, choose the one that best fits you, your grades, and your resume, and apply ED.

When applying early decision, the applicant agrees to attend that school should they be accepted. Kids who apply early decision can only do so to one school. If the school says yes, so must the student. Although it is intimidating for many to commit to a college so early in the year, it is the best opportunity to get into the 1st choice pick if you really know where you want to go.