In 2010, the SAT college admissions test started something new: the Score Choice option. How does it work? Should students use it? Experts from the two leading test prep firms weigh in.
by Kathie Sutin
A challenge for students preparing to take the SAT college entrance exam is the changing nature of the test itself. In 2005, the long-time structure of the SAT was changed when analogies were eliminated, shorter reading passages were added, and a student-written essay became part of the test. Then, in 2010, for the first time students were given the option of participating in what the SAT calls Score Choice.
Pick which scores you’ll send
For students who take the SAT more than once, usually in hopes of bolstering their scores the second time, Score Choice allows them to submit their choice of one score, all scores, or no scores at all to a particular college.
Previously, students were required to send scores on the test when they took it as well as scores on all previously taken tests.
"In the past if you took the SAT, all of your score history would be sent with your score report,” said Kristen Campbell, director of College Prep Programs for Kaplan, a company that offers prep classes for college admissions tests, graduate school entrance exams, high school admissions tests, and a variety of other tests. “Whether you took the test one time, two times or three times, all of your score history would be included.”
Starting with the class of 2010, students have had the option to decide which score is sent to which school, Campbell told Parent USA City.
Some colleges demand all scores
However, Campbell added, “The one caveat—and it’s an important one—is that colleges also have the choice to participate. Some colleges have come out and said, ‘We’re not participating and you, as a student, have to send all of your scores.’”
Georgetown University and the University of Pennsylvania are examples of schools that continue to require students to send all of their scores, Campbell said. “They’re saying, ‘We’re likely going to look at the highest score but you’ve got to send all of them,’” she added.
And Ed Carroll, executive director of High School Program Development for The Princeton Review, another test prep company, recommends against using the Score Choice option.
“Our advice is for students to release all scores,” he said. “The colleges want to see all scores.”
“False fear” of lower admission chances
The Score Choice option was developed to allay worries that students and parents have over scores, Carroll said. “The only reason Score Choice exists is that the College Board is trying to make parents and students happy.”
Some parents and students are “afraid” to have colleges see all the scores because they think a lower score will affect their chances of being admitted, he added.
But for the most part that’s a “false fear,” Carroll said.
In general, for most students it would be a mistake to withhold scores especially if the score on an individual section—math, reading or writing—is higher than those being submitted.
That’s because standardized tests are very good at giving consistent scores. On those tests, most students will get similar scores each time they take the test unless they do “some kind of significant practice in between,” Carroll said.
“If you hold back a score where one of the original sections was higher than it was on the scores you sent, you’d actually be damaging yourself in doing so, because schools usually consider your best individual sections regardless of on when the test was taken.”
Schools want the highest scores just as the student does, and for the same reason, Carroll said. “It benefits the student, obviously, to be competitive and it benefits the school when it is reporting the average incoming scores. So it does the school good to have high scores come from you as well.
“If you’ve withheld your scores then the school can’t look and find the highest that you possibly had,” he said.
“In general, our advice is, don’t use Score Choice. Send all of your results.”
Kathie Sutin is an award-winning freelance journalist based in St. Louis, Missouri. She specializes in writing about medical issues, travel, parenting, education, business, food and people. She has three children.
© Photo by Lev Olkha | Dreamstime.com
Your kids—boys and girls alike—express a desire to cook from a very early age, likely without your even realizing it. They make mud pies in the sandbox, play with child-sized cooking sets, and organize kitchens in doll houses or play areas, and they probably inquire about what you’re cooking from the time they begin to communicate.
Kids Cooking Activities offers up reasons why you should encourage cooking activities with your kids. (Set up link at underlining to http://www.kids-cooking-activities.com)
* Cooking with your children helps them to learn about nutrition and healthy eating.
* Cooking in the kitchen will give children a boost of self confidence. They are accomplishing a task, learning something important, and contributing to the family.
* Taking time to cook with your kids will give them lasting memories. They will pass the traditions on when they are grown and have their own families.
* In the enthusiasm of creating something themselves, your children will be more likely to eat what they had a hand in making.
* Kids learn real lessons in science, language, math, and creativity in the kitchen. Cooking will help reinforce all these subjects.
* Cooking is a great way to learn life skills. This is especially helpful when children are older and more independent. They won't have to rely on fast food and junk food to sustain them.
* Working together in the kitchen teaches your child teamwork.
* Cooking teaches children planning and making choices skills.
* Kids practice creativity and imagination in the kitchen. Cooking activities are a great way for kids to express themselves and enjoy their creations.
It may take longer to get the meal or snack done, but the moments with your children will be priceless. Remember to have patience. Don't worry about flour on the floor or spilled milk.
A role model for cooking with kids
Cooking With Kids, a series of 90-second videos, is hosted by James Beard Award-winning chef John Sarich. Development of the program was inspired by the reality of childhood obesity, anorexia and other eating disorders, Type II Diabetes, and low bone density, which have all become national issues. Cooking With Kids encourages parents and children to spend time in the kitchen together preparing healthy meals in ways that improve communication and help children develop healthy nutritional habits. (Set up link at underlining to http://www.cookingwithkids.org/fact.html)
The program shows how easy it is for kids to prepare snacks and meals that taste good and that are good for them. It uses the five food groups as a platform for nutrition messages. You can watch the videos with your children through the website, then print out the recipe and go try it yourselves.
The recipes that Sarich prepares with kids on the segments teach them which categories on the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Pyramid are included in the recipe. He explains how vegetable burritos, for example, include foods that have protein, fiber and dairy, and that the burritos are low in fat.
Good cooking habits
Spatulatta provides 350 step-by-step videos that teach kids good cooking habits, and offers advice for moms, dads and kids on numerous issues related to cooking with kids. It emphasizes topics like teaching kids to wash their hands properly before handling food. (Set up link at underlining to http://www.spatulatta.com)
When it comes to working in the kitchen, you know your children. You know what abilities they have and how fine their motor skills are. Some children are ready to handle a certain kitchen utensil or work at the stove earlier than others. It’s up to you to make that determination.
You set the rules in your kitchen, such as you will always light the burners and oven for your children.
Go over the workings of every electrical appliance with your child. Explain that the beaters, for example, should be inserted into a hand mixer before the mixer is plugged in.
Safety and courtesy are behaviors that need to be re-enforced and modeled.
Once you've explained how to handle an item safely, try asking your child to tell you how to do it the next time the task is required when making a recipe. We all learn best when we try to teach.
CREDIT:
Christina DiMartino has been a freelance and assignment writer since 1985. She is a researcher, interviewer, writer, editor, and manuscript collaborator with a repertoire of clients from around the world.
PHOTO / ILLUSTRATION RECOMMENDATIONS:
Go to http://www.cookingwithkids.org
TEASER:
Cooking with your kids does much more than produce tasty treats! It teaches teamwork, safety, courtesy, math, science, and more, and encourages creativity and imagination. And there are some terrific online videos that will help you get started.
Subscribe to this comment's feed
