The College Board reported Tuesday that the high school class of 2007 had the lowest combined math and reading scores since 1999. Reading scores fell from 503 to 502, math scores dropped from 518 to 515 and the writing section saw a drop of 3 points from 497 to 494. All scores are out of a possible 800 points.

Why the drastic drop? The College Board — the firm that runs the SAT claims the test’s new redesign lead to lower scores, plus they say that an increased diversity in the pool of students taking the SAT is another reason scores took a tumble this year. In this vein they cite the following statistics: (more…)

According to The Washington Post the College Board, the firm that runs the SAT test and NCS Pearson, the company that scans SAT answer sheets announced last Friday that they will pay nearly $3 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over the botched scores of thousands of SAT taking students. About 4,400 of the 500,000 students who took the test in October 2005 were affected by an answer sheet scanning problem. The affected students filed a lawsuit citing that they mistakenly received lower scores as a result of the scanning issue. Per the settlement, (more…)

SAT Vocabulary Building Manga?

For SAT students that dread traditional vocabulary building techniques but love manga media, there is a new product on the market — the manga graphic novel edited to contain SAT vocabulary words. Take a popular fantasy book, rewrite it a bit to include SAT required vocabulary words and you have an academic twist on a manga story. (more…)

Today is May 6, which means the May 5th SAT is over! We wanted to share this hilarious YouTube video, entitled “I Hate the SAT”, which perhaps summarizes how most high school students feel about the SAT. You should also check out all the video responses and comments by other student who concur.

Be sure to congratulate yourself for all the hours of hard work you’ve poured into your SAT preparation. You can now take a deep breath and relax. Regardless of how you think you scored, please remember it’s just (more…)

Today we spotted this gem of an article by high school junior Angelia de Meistre regarding the SAT and college application process. With levity and wit, she sums up the bittersweet anticipation of taking the SAT and applying to college.

There is an intellectual thrill, which is somewhat akin to skydiving for the first time, in realizing that I have both the opportunity and responsibility to make decisions and perform on tests in a bid to gain acceptance into that perfect college that seemingly determines the outcome of my entire adult life.

Angelica has this advice to offer sophomores heading into the college application gauntlet:

My suggestion…. is to be sure to have your parents take many photos of you and display them prominently so when they think you’ve disappeared in your junior year, they’ll be reassured that you’re still alive.

College acceptance letters were received this week by students across the country. For those academically elite students applying to “elite” colleges, their definition of “elite” was called into question. No longer is a 4.0 GPA and perfect 2400 SAT test scores a ticket into your college of choice. As the New York Times reported yesterday, “high school valedictorians were a dime a dozen” at Harvard, Yale and Princeton. “There’s a sense of collective shock among parents at seeing extraordinarily talented kids getting rejected.”

Here’s a look at the low acceptance rates of a few top schools:

The rejection of top students does not diminish the importance of academic achievement and scoring high on the SAT. In fact, it points to the increased importance of high grades and SAT scores as a requirement to even be considered at top schools. The difference maker these days appears to be what Seamus Malin calls being “well-lopsided” – showing some particular passion that you can bring to that school’s freshman class. Mere resume building, it seems, doesn’t work anymore.

While I’m pretty handy around the house and enjoy home improvement projects, I occasionally get myself in over my head. It is at such times that I call upon Kevin, a local handyman, to help me out. I have known Kevin for a couple of years now. He is a great guy and a talented craftsman.

What separates Kevin from other handymen, however, is that he is currently earning a masters degree in education. Yes, at the ripe old age of fifty, Kevin has decided to change careers. (more…)

“One forgets words as one forgets names. One’s vocabulary needs constant fertilizing or it will die.” – Evelyn Waugh

Wordsource | Quizlet | Dictionary Tooltip Review

By now you’ve likely heard about “Web 2.0″, which means a lot of things but generally relates to the new wave of websites that look and feel more like desktop applications. Another Web 2.0 hallmark is the rise of social networks and user generated content (a fancy way of saying that end-users – meaning YOU – play an active role in creating the content that drives the site). High school kids are more likely to encounter new vocabulary online instead of reading the newspaper or a magazine. Today we profile a collection of websites and tools that make the building of your vocabulary less painful, if not even mildly fun. (more…)

A few years ago I remember reading a newspaper article that included a funny letter written by a high school senior who had received several college rejection letters. I recently came across a copy of the letter and thought I would share it.

Office of Admissions
Any College
Wherever, U.S.A.

Dear Any College:

Having now reviewed the many rejection letters received in the last few weeks, it is with great regret that I must inform you that I am unable to accept your rejection at this time.

While I realize that, whatever you might read after that first sentence may be of little consolation, I would still like to clarify some points for you.

This year, I applied to a great number of fine colleges and universities and, of course, received many rejection letters. Unfortunately, the number of rejection letters that I can accept is very limited. It is for this reason that I was forced to reject the rejection letters of many qualified institutions. (more…)

Well almost. Today’s Wall Street Journal reports on the momentum of elite universities offering full courses online for free to the public. MIT spearheaded the movement in 2003. The school’s “OpenCourseWare” provides syllabus and class notes for more than 1,500 courses online. Take a peak at this MIT physics lecture (requires Real Media Player). The article notes many colleges are following in MIT’s footsteps. We applaud Yale’s announcement to put seven undergraduate courses online in full video beginning this year.

The opportunity to learn has never been more exciting. As a high school student beginning the college search, we encourage you to explore their free online course offerings and begin to experience what it’s like in class.