The BDN’s March 4 editorial, “Why Maine should keep paying for students to take the SAT,” made a good point that Maine should encourage students to pursue higher education, but shows an incomplete understanding of the issues. Yes, the Maine Department of Education is again paying for high school juniors to take the SAT. But only once more, and not on a regularly scheduled test date. Most — not all — Maine high schools will offer a special sitting for the SAT on Wednesday, April 15.
Alex Moore, who test-maker College Board assigned as a support contact for Maine, confirmed that no other U.S. students will take the SAT then. Maine high school juniors are not a well-diversified group; they represent a unique cohort. How this might affect scores, which are based upon the performance of the group who sits for a particular test, is unclear. Further, future access to scores earned on a nontraditional test date could prove challenging.
And yes, the Department of Education is well-intentioned to cover the registration fees of potentially more than 11,700 juniors. But if Maine is paying the full fee of $52.50 per student, shouldn’t we receive full access to services?
Nancy Godfrey, Maine’s Department of Education assessment coordinator, said that this deal does not include access to a report the College Board offers on every other test date. Identical to the legal-sized Preliminary SAT score sheet, the Student Answer Service is well worth the $13.50 all other students have the option to pay; it provides an accounting of examples a student answered correctly, incorrectly or omitted. Going well beyond the three numbers (scores for critical reading, math and writing), the Student Answer Service provides valuable information for those wishing to study and retake the test.
According to the editorial, “the SAT is on its way out.” Actually, the College Board has been forced to revise its tricky, counter-intuitive test after losing market share to the ACT (a far more comprehensive test with the standard and fair scoring system used by everyone else). The new SAT will appear sometime in 2016.
I agree, as the BDN editorial suggests, some students cannot or will not take the SAT if they must pay $52.50. Not well known is that students are eligible for fee waivers, which cover not only registration but also extra services. Moreover, those qualifying enjoy a big discount from $70 down to $30 for the College Board’s SAT online course. Any student qualifying for the National School Lunch Program and other public assistance qualifies for College Board fee waivers.
Surely encouraging Maine’s students to access higher education extends beyond paying $52.50 for a test. If we really want to bridge the gap, we must provide a much better view of what’s on the other side. The world of work has become so compartmentalized and out of the public eye, few of us know what most jobs are like.
Yet, we ask 17-year-olds to declare what they want to do after high school graduation, or in five years. The Department of Education should invest the funds they’ve paid the College Board in programs that build strong partnerships between our high schools and Maine industry, business, agriculture and the arts. Once students can envision their futures and become inspired to join those ranks, their interest and excitement will be the best forward propulsion.
Marjory Russakoff of Southwest Harbor has worked for 25 years as a guidance counselor, tutor and SAT prep specialist. She is a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling.