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Article: War on the SAT: with affirmative action rolled back, University of California President Richard Atkinson wants to ditch the controversial standardized test as the be-all, end-all of college admissions.
- Article from:
- The American Prospect
- Article date:
- May 6, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The American Prospect, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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WHEREVER HE WENT IN THE PAST YEAR, University of California President Richard Atkinson was handing out verbal analogies questions: DRAPERY is to FABRIC as (pick one) fireplace is to wood; curtain to stage; shutter to light; sieve to liquid; window to glass.
The questions come from the SAT I exam that 1.3 million college applicants take every year. The questions aren't all that tough, but Atkinson believes they show that the test is a capricious exercise that adds little information to what other tests and grades show about a student's academic capabilities. At the same time, it discriminates against poor and minority students, and distracts attention from the ...