SAT: The imperfect admissions test

While higher education institutions consider many things -- high school grades, community service, personal interviews, recommendations -- the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) still reigns as a leading indicator of possible collegiate success.

Eighty-three percent of colleges and universities use the scores as admission criteria, according to the College Board, a not-for-profit association representing over 3,800 schools, colleges and universities, which creates and grades the tests.

A poor SAT score can seriously hamper a student's chances of getting into his or her college of choice -- or, for that matter, any college at all.

At Abington Heights, students are offered the opportunity to prepare for the test with a 10-session series of classes. All it costs them is $25 and two hours after school.

But the classes don't teach math or verbal skills. They simply give students the strategies they need to achieve a good score.

"I call myself the coach and the SAT is the foe," says JoAnne Cesare, who has prepped hundreds of students for the math portion of the test since 1986.

With a master's degree to her credit, Mrs. Cesare has spent the last 24 of her 25 years in teaching at Lourdesmont, a South Abington school for adolescents with social, emotional, behavioral and substance abuse problems run by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd.

FOREWARNED IS FOREARMED

Mrs. Cesare says the SAT is loaded with tricks and traps. And she's willing to prove it.

At the beginning of her prep classes, she takes the test herself.

Despite the practice, that perfect 800 still eludes her. "I have all this background and it can still trap me," she says.

She contends that the students' math skills aren't in question. It's their test-taking skills that are graded.

"Clearly, it's not interested in getting to what they know about math. It's interested in frustrating them," Mrs. Cesare says. "The great mathematical minds of the country are not making up these questions."

Her helpful hints to defeat the test include: the obvious answer is most likely incorrect; you don't need to answer every question; the level of difficulty increases as each question is answered; and you can take the test again.

That's just what Eric Nguyen, of South Abington, did on May 5.

The junior at Abington Heights has made a mission out of bettering his 1470 score (out of 1600) by at least 30 points. "That's the benefit of taking it twice," he says. "You know what you need to focus on."

Eric prepared for the test with a self-tutoring computer program. Classmates Joe Yasinskas and Adrian Trama, both of Clarks Summit, took the class offered by the district, while Megan Huylo, also of Clarks Summit, took the Princeton Review, a private course of personal tutoring.

PUTTING PENCIL TO PAPER

"We took so many practice tests that nothing surprised me too much," says Joe, who also took the May 5 test.

Adrian had a different experience. "I should have spent more time preparing," she says.

Thanks to solid preparation, Megan wasn't all that nervous. "I went to bed early and ate a good breakfast," she says with a laugh. "And took a few deep breaths."

All four students, looking to score higher than 1200, said that performing well on the test was extremely important, but added that the test did not measure the quality of their education.

All deemed the test as tricky, but a necessary evil.

"Despite its drawbacks, it does give colleges a standard to look at," Eric says.

And look they do.

"Colleges think it is very important," explains Dr. Margaret Billings-Jones, a guidance counselor at the Abington Heights High School who administered the May test at the school. "They won't even look at the students if they don't meet the baseline. That's why we recommend that they take the test twice."

In the 1999-2000 school year, 232 Abington Heights students took the test, scoring an average of 1031. Statewide, more than 76,000 students took the test, averaging 994.

While a few colleges have blazed the trail and made the SAT optional -- Muhlenberg College in Allentown is at the end of a five-year experiment adopted by faculty members in 1996 -- Dr. Billings-Jones says scholarship money is still based primarily on the scores.

"The message is that we will accept you, but we won't give you the money," she says.

MAKING THE GRADE AT PSU

A poor score on the SAT doesn't necessarily mean a rejection letter, however.

Penn State University offers provisional enrollment -- a chance for students to show that they can handle college-level work despite the fact that their grades and testing scores were less than impressive.

Acceptance to Penn State University is based on several factors, including SAT scores. According to the university, about two-thirds of the evaluation is based on high school grades and one-third on standardized test scores like the SAT. A personal statement and extracurricular activities may also be submitted with an application.

"They are obviously important to our admission decision," says Dr. Ralph Mastriani, admissions officer and registrar at the Penn State Worthington Scranton campus in Dunmore. "For many years, it has been a very reliable predictor for success in college."

With 45,000 applications pouring in each year, Penn State needs some way to quantify them. "If an admissions interview was necessary for every student, we'd be sandbagged," he said. "We wouldn't be able to admit any students."

And getting into the college of your choice is the bottom line. That means, taking the test.

"Unfortunately, for the kids of the class of 2002, they have to take the SAT," Mrs. Cesare says.