FYI -- Testing has become a political football. If tests show _any_ discrepancy between different groups (ethnic, gender, etc.), then the politicians & teachers want to change the test until no discrepancies remain. Some test! Some math questions to add to the test: 1. What is the probability of 3 or more "hard questions" appearing sequentially in a test of 35 randomly chosen questions? 2. What is the probability of test averages showing changes _even when the underlying probabilities haven't changed_ ? 3. What is the probability that, after millions of tests, under every conceivable circumstance, by hundreds of different types of agencies, for a wide variety of purposes, that gender differences in math performance could be the result of "test bias" ? ----- http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/27/nyregion/27REGE.html?pagewanted=print&posi... August 27, 2003 Trials of Regents Test Foresaw Failure at a High Rate By KAREN W. ARENSON .. ¶A string of especially tough problems partway through the test appeared to frustrate some students, who simply gave up on the exam. .. ¶Trigonometry, which was part of the state's Math A syllabus and of previous tests, was not included among the 35 questions on the test. But there were three items that used the Pythagorean theorem, leaving any students who were weak in that area at a disadvantage. .. Asked why the Education Department gave a test when it expected the average score to be so low, Alan Ray, a department spokesman, said, "The purpose of the test is to measure whether students meet the standards, not to make sure that a certain number of students pass or fail." .. ---- http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/27/education/27SAT.html?pagewanted=print&posi... August 27, 2003 High School Seniors Get Highest SAT Math Scores in 35 Years By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 The scores of high school seniors on the SAT math exam have climbed to their highest level in 35 years. Experts tied the gain to the growing number of students learning algebra in the eighth grade and taking more advanced courses in math after reaching high school. The average math score was 519, out of a possible 800. Educators around the country hailed the results of the 2003 SAT tests, released here today, as good news, with some reservations: the scores of students from rural areas and large cities continued to lag, and women continued to lag behind men, particularly in math. .. Today's results appeared to contrast sharply with the results of the ACT, another college entrance exam, released last week. Those results showed student scores holding steady, but at a level indicating that a majority of students were unprepared for college-level work in math or science. .. In addition, said Cyndie Schmeiser, the vice president for development at ACT, the two exams measure different kinds of learning. The ACT tests knowledge of the curriculum for a given subject, while the SAT more generally measures aptitude and the ability to reason. Unlike the SAT, the ACT results showed no gap between the performance of men and women. The average math SAT score of 519 represented a 16-point gain over the last decade, while the average verbal score of 507 represented a 7-point gain. ..