4 may 2005
the stentorian I ncssm
The New SAT Brings Changes for Students
Amy Wen &
Ramsey Cardwell
N cssm juniors got a
whiff of what it feels
like to prepare for col
lege applications, beginning
with the required New SAT.
Students took the New
SAT on March 12 and May 7.
Overwhelmingly, the most
definitive opinion of students
is that the new SAT is exces
sively long. “I think that it was
way too lengthy and by the
end of the test you begin to
lack in skills because you
become so bored,” explained
Courtney Brown. This certain
ly is a possible explanation for
the anomaly in the imbalance
in scores.
Another topic students
stressed was the monotony of
the test. “It seemed like the
same sections were repeating
over and over and over,” said
Sara Wise. In addition to the
seven sections found on the
old SAT, there were three new
sections: one 10-minute and
one 25-minute multiple choice
writing section, as well as a
25-minute essay.
Although the Critical
Reading and Writing sections
are separate, there are six or
seven “Verbal” sections,
depending on whether or not
the unscored section is verbal
or math. A couple of students
found that fmstrating, because
they were not interested in
relentlessly reading sentences
and passages on random top
ics. However, they had to face
three consecutive verbal sec
tions at some point during the
test. “It seems as if the United
States is trying to downplay
the importance of mathematics
and perhaps make the SAT
harder for mathematically
inclined people,” said Haolan
Cai.
The major remarks about
the writing section dealt with
inadequate time constraints
and the subjective grading.
Many did not even finish their
essays. “I will never under
stand how a 25 minute essay
can be a proper reflection of
one’s actual writing ability
under normal circumstances,”
said James Winder. However,
there are patterns to the grad
ing that can help achieve a
higher score. A comparison of
essay scores and their respec
tive length was done by Les
Perelman, one of the directors
of undergraduate writing at
MIT, using essays released by
the College Board, and it
yielded surprising results. The
length of an essay and
Tt will never understand
I how a 25 minute essay
can be a proper reflection
of one's actual writing
ability under normal cir-
cumstances"
- dames Winder
J
its score were almost
perfectly correlated. This pro
vides evidence to the argument
of many English teachers that
the essay section is promoting
formulaic, superficial writing.
Many students expressed
relief that the writing section
was the first thing on the test,
the general concern being that
test-takers would be too men
tally drained by the end of the
test to think and write coher
ently. “I would have been too
dead to write a word if I had to
wait until the end,” noted Sara
Wise.
Since two of the new sec
tions deal exclusively with
grammar, there are further
concerns pertaining to the abil
ity of students with poor gram
mar skills to perform well on
the test. “The new writing sec
tions have made the test even
harder for the majority of
African-American students.
The students at NCSSM are an
exception to the rule, because
we are continually exposed to
correct grammar, however,
most African-American stu
dents attend predominantly
black schools where grammar
is not stressed nearly enough,”
said Erica Perry. This is not to
say that the SAT is fundamen
tally biased against any partic
ular ethnic groups. “I am in no
way saying that the SAT
should change so that black
students can do better, but I do
see a need for more prepara
tion in African American com-
mxmities,” Erica said.
With the addition of
Algebra II topics, many stu
dents felt the math sections of
the SAT were harder in com
parison to the old SAT. “A lot
of [math problems] were cen
tered around picky formulas
from back in geometry,” said
Dan Duncan. “I was running
out of time on some of the
math sections, which have got
ten noticeably harder. There
were new concepts from
Algebra 2 and some Geometry
that I did not remember seeing
on the old SAT,” said Ramsey
Cardwell.
Several students offered
their advice for those taking
the test in June or early next
year. “It's been a while since I
have taken Geometry and
Algebra II, so I probably need
to brush up on those two
before I take the test again,”
said Theresa Crowgey. Some
students found practice the
most effective way to prepare,
getting them used to the types
of questions, the format of the
test, and the length of the
exam.
There were also recom
mendations on topics not relat
ed to the content of the SAT. “I
would suggest taking a snack,
waking up in time for break
fast, and having a watch to
keep track of the time,” said
Casey Farren. Other students
simply suggest avoiding the
headaches and stress caused
by this new SAT format. “My
recommendation is take the
ACT,”said Genevieve Pike.
Colours: the People, the Music, the Ministry
Jasmine Lagrone
C olours Gospel Choir is
an NCSSM organiza
tion devoted to spread
ing the message of Jesus
Christ through song. Colours
always manages to leave an
impression on the hearts and
minds of NCSSMers and com
munity members. Directed by
Mr. Leon Goldston, Colours
has united a broad spectrum of
races through music and fel
lowship for over a decade.
Q: Why did you join
Colours?
Bomi Oladosu: “I joined
Colours because I thought that
this year I should do some
thing different and be more
involved with worshiping
God and telling others about it
through song.”
Q: What makes Colours
unique?
Amber Smith: “We get togeth
er and sing and have fiin.
We’re there together all the
time. Mr. Leon makes it really
unique in a good way. I’ve
never had a director like him
before. He’s so full of ener-
»»
gy-
Q: What keeps you coming
back to Colours performanc
es?
Nia Bridges: “I love the ener
gy. When they’re on stage,
they’re in the zone and you
know that they love what
they’re doing. You get uplift
ed no matter how you’re feel-
mg.
Ellie Norton
Colours Gospel Choir sings at the Commencement Concert.
Q: What’s your general
impression of the choir?
Cortney Dahlgren: “I think
they’re really good. I saw
them at NC Gospel Fest, and I
thought they were the best
group there by far. They were
able to project and were com
pletely together. The move
ments were also really cool.”
Q: The fact that Colours is a
Gospel choir may push non-
Christians away. What does
Colours have to offer the
NCSSM community at large?
Christine Smith: “I think
Colours offers a way for peo
ple who aren’t Christian to
experience something new
and just wonderful. I think it’s
worthwhile and I’m glad I
joined.”
Carlos Fuentes: “Colours is a
musical organization, and is
where musical talent can get
together and work together for
something they all believe
strongly in. They provide the
NCSSM community with
musical entertainment and an
opportunity to listen to a style
of music otherwise unknown
here.”
Q: Please describe how hand
gestures have added to
Colours performances this
year.
Kimberly Applewhite: “I think
the sign language in ‘Thank
You’ was a nice touch. It
reminded everyone, I think,
that there isn't a real reason
why you can't thank the Lord
for all that He's done. We
«
could spend our whole lives
trying to pay Him back, so it's
good to be grateful for every
thing. Even in a different lan
guage, there are still
ways to show gratitude
to Him.”
Q: Please tell me some
thing interesting about
Colours or how it's
added to your life.
Dana Squire: “We had a
visitor come last year
who gave us his testimo
ny and prayed. There
was something about his
prayer that really got my
spirit going. It got me
spiritually excited for
the very first time in my
life. It was my first time
experiencing the Holy
Ghost.”
Q: How have you seen
Colours’ influence in the com
munity?
Isaac Owolabi: “The Bible
says in Acts 1:8 ‘You will
receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes on you and you
will be my witnesses...’ This
very same power was mani
fested on March 5th when
Colours hosted the Gospel
event. Every member of the
choir was stressed, tired, and
had a sore throat, but God’s
ways are not man's ways and
he decided to use us anyway
so that He would receive
honor. The notes and beats all
worked together in heavenly
harmony. The audience
responded and many surren
dered their lives to Christ that
night.”
iivijojiiM'ift '3MJ
2004-2005
Colours Gospel
Choir Members
Steve Brown
Isaac Owolabi
Gavrielle Washington
Quanetta Brown
Mesha Batts
Jessica Lynch
Brittany Dancy
Sonja Mitchell
Yolanda Fair
Kari Sides
Jane Lee
Richard Pridgen
Linsdey Furstenberg
Ervin Griffin
Erica Perry
Jasmine Lagrone
Amber Smith
Julia Lockamy
Sam Carey
Folabomi Oladosu
Lauren Owen
Derek Paylor
Christine Smith
Dana Squire
Leah Pittman
Kimberly Applewhite
Melanie Pringle
Kamrul Rokon
Johnny Ashe