educational testing

14 Stories

Student: My SAT Score Rose, and They Assume I Cheated

Kamilah Campbell is demanding Educational Testing Service release her score

(Newser) - Kamilah Campbell wanted to improve her March SAT score. So the 18-year-old Florida high school senior "studied harder than she ever studied before," says her attorney. The result was a 330-point increase when she took the test again in October, getting a score of 1230. But then she...

School Stops Giving Kids Mountain Dew Before Tests

Principal had read it was beneficial

(Newser) - No more pre-test infusion of sugar and caffeine for these kids. A grandmother complained when she learned that children at a Florida elementary school were getting a dose of Mountain Dew before taking standardized tests, Florida Today reports. They received three tablespoons of the soda, along with some trail mix,...

SAT Scores: Not So Hot at Predicting College Success
SAT Scores: Not So Hot at Predicting College Success
STUDY SAYS
Feb 18, 2014 12:48 PM CST

SAT Scores: Not So Hot at Predicting College Success

High school grades a much better indicator of likely college success: study

(Newser) - The SATs were created to offer a way to help less-privileged students show their skills—but these days, the stressful tests "serve more to truncate access than to open it," says William Hiss, a former dean at Bates College. He and his team have conducted what could be...

Asia Still Kicking Our Kids' Butts in Math, Science
Asia Still Kicking Our
Kids' Butts in Math, Science
New test results
Dec 11, 2012 10:14 AM CST

Asia Still Kicking Our Kids' Butts in Math, Science

Singapore dominates, according to new testing results

(Newser) - The results of new testing are, unfortunately, more of the same: US kids remain behind a host of other countries in math and science, specifically those in East Asia. American fourth-graders rank 11th in math and 7th in science, while eighth-graders are 9th in math and 10th in science. Leading...

Teachers Now Backing ... the GOP

Republicans see more union dollars roll in

(Newser) - Talk about strange bedfellows: Some American teachers' unions, bruised by struggles with Democrats like Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel , are lending their support to ... Republicans, the New York Times reports. Reaching across the aisle in states like Illiinois, Ohio, and Texas, teachers' groups gave $1.2 million to GOP state candidates...

Banned From NYC Tests: Dinosaurs, Aliens, Birthdays

Officials ban 50 subjects from city-wide assessment tests

(Newser) - New York City test-makers are going to have a hard time coming up with acceptable questions to place on students' tests, after officials decided to ban 50 subjects including dinosaurs and birthdays. Why? Because those topics have been deemed potentially controversial, and could make kids upset: Dinosaurs, for example, could...

School's Plan to Boost Test Scores: Feed Kids Placebos

Florida elementary school students given 'FCAT PowerBars'

(Newser) - A Florida elementary school wants its students to perform better on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test … so it's feeding them "placebos." Hagen Road Elementary students will be given an "FCAT PowerBar"—aka an apple-flavored cereal bar with a label reading, "Warning: Improves Writing...

7 Busted for SAT Scam
 7 Busted for SAT Scam  
Sep 28, 2011 4:20 AM CDT

7 Busted for SAT Scam

High school students paid up to $2.5k for graduate to sit exam

(Newser) - Seven teens have been arrested in an SAT-cheating ring at a prestigious Long Island high school. Sam Eshaghoff, 19, took the exam for at least six other students, charging up to $2,500 for each one, prosecutors told the Los Angeles Times . The six Great Neck North students have been...

In Standardized Tests, Shanghai Kids Kick World's Butt

Shanghai ranks at the top in all three areas

(Newser) - China is emerging as a world powerhouse, and that extends into the classroom. Shanghai teenagers outscored their peers around the world on the latest Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey, and Hong Kong also ranked high in all three areas: second in math and science, fourth in reading. This...

4-Day School Week Gains Traction

Some districts see performance rise, others worry about student stress

(Newser) - For one cash-strapped Georgia school district, instituting a 4-day school week was a last resort—cut a day, or fire 39 teachers. But besides saving money on operating costs, school officials say, the 4-day week has boosted test scores and increased attendance for both students and teachers, leading to more...

Personality Test to Supplement Grad Exams

Prospective students will be ranked on creativity, ethics

(Newser) - For students applying to graduate school, good GREs and warm recommendation letters will soon not be enough. The Educational Testing Service has developed an index for professors and supervisors to use to rank students on a 1-to-5 scale for attributes like teamwork, creativity and integrity. The goal of the questionnaire...

Is 10th Grade Time for College?

(Newser) - Sweet sixteen is the right time to leave high school and leap into higher education, New Hampshire education officials say. Following advice from a blue-ribbon panel that warned of America's educational decline 2 years ago, the state plans to test 10th graders with tough new exams. Those who pass can...

Grueling Gaokao Tests China's College Seekers

Dreaded university entrance exam covers 12 years of study

(Newser) - At least 10 million high school students in China are taking the grueling gaokao, or "high test," to win a coveted spot at college. It’s a two-day ordeal that covers everything students have learned for a dozen years. It also shuts down neighborhoods, redirects traffic, and determines...

Big Proctor Is Watching You
Big Proctor Is Watching You
Jun 20, 2007 4:00 AM CDT

Big Proctor Is Watching You

Webcams help distance-learning administrators keep students in line online

(Newser) - A new device designed to monitor tests remotely helps distance-learning providers keep an eye on students who are taking exams thousands of miles away. The virtual proctor locks down the terminal so users can't search files or the Internet for answers, a 360-degree camera captures the student's actions, and a...

14 Stories