Discussion Questions

Aired August 27, 2003

The nation's high school class of 2003 achieved the best score on the math section of the SAT exam in at least 36 years, while students' verbal scores hit a 16-year high.

1. What are the SATs? What role do they play in the college admission process?

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2. Why are the SAT scores for the high school class of 2003 significant? According to the video, what factors contributed to the high test scores?

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3. Which racial group got the highest SAT scores? Why do you think there is a gap between the SAT scores of white students and non-Asian minorities, as well as between genders?

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Related Links:

CNN.com: Math SAT scores reach 36-year high (http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/08/26/sprj.sch.sat.scores.ap/index.html)

CNN.com: Analysis: Some students not ready for college math (http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/08/20/sprj.sch.act.scores.ap/index.html)

U.S. Department of Education (http://www.ed.gov/index.jsp)

collegeboard.com, Inc. (http://www.collegeboard.com/)

The ACT Assessment, Inc. (http://www.act.org/aap/)

Commonly Asked Questions About Standardized Tests (http://www.ets.org/letstalk/faq.html)

Keywords

SAT, standardized tests, College Board, math, test scores