ERIC Number: ED196947
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1980-Nov
Pages: 15
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Test Score Decline Among High Achievers: Policy Implications.
Goldman, Jerrold; Hsia, Jayjia
Since 1967, the mean Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) score has declined. Likewise, the numbers of candidates receiving high SAT scores have been decreasing steadily. The same downward trend in student achievement can be seen among student groups from grade 4 through post graduate studies. In recent years, policy has been directed towards making services accessible to the less well endowed segments of society and has allotted a mere trickle to serve the academically or otherwise gifted. In addition, market forces have worked cyclically to influence the supply of trained talent in the arts, humanities, sciences, and professions. The fields of medicine, law, and technology have always been viewed as having a higher "payoff," and the numbers of test takers receiving high scores on entrance examinations to these highly competitive fields have actually increased. Some implications include: (1) colleges and universities are going to be faced with some hard choices concerning their standards; (2) guidance counseling in the elementary and secondary grades must help students choose challenging curricula in all areas; (3) policies that determine the allocation of financial aid should be re-examined; and (4) policies that determine the kinds of professions that are valued most must be adjusted. (RL)
Publication Type: Opinion Papers; Reports - Evaluative; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A