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Test Prep Courses May Not
Affect Scores, Study Says
Test preparation companies,
like Kaplan Inc., insist that
the study's methods were
unfair, skewing the results.
By Vadim Isakov
Staff Writer
A recent study has concluded that
preparation courses for college admis
sions tests, including the SAT, might not
be as effective as many people think.
The study was conducted by Derek
Briggs, a doctoral student in education
at the University of Califomia-Berkeley.
Briggs said the purpose of his
research was to determine whether SAT
coaching was effective. “I was interested
in the effect the commercial preparation
programs have on the actual scores,” he
said. “I don’t work for any testing or
coaching company, and I do not have
the intention to lie.”
Briggs found that coaching improves
scores by only about 20 points on the
SAT, paling in comparison to the 150 to
200 point increase advertised by many
test preparation companies.
In the math section of the SAT,
coaching improved students’ scores by
14 percent, and on the verbal section
scores increased by 5 percent.
Similar results were found for the stu
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dents who took preparation courses for
the ACT.
Briggs based his study on data taken
from the National Education Longitudinal
Survey, which began in 1998. The survey
tracks a nationally representative sample
of students from the eighth grade through
high school and beyond.
Briggs said his research took into
account not only students who attended
preparation courses and took the test
but also students who went to the class
es but decided not to take the SAT.
“If test preparation companies or pri
vate tutors advertise only the average
score gains of the students who make
use of their services, the ‘effect’ of this
preparation is misleading,” Briggs stated
in an article detailing his results.
But coaching company representa
tives and critics of standardized tests
have attacked the study’s methodology
and criticized its results.
“The major flaw of the study is that it
is too broad,” said Cristina Perez, an
advocate in the university testing reform
division of the National Center for Fair
and Open Testing.
Perez added that it would be benefi
cial to examine different levels of coach
ing. She also suggested the formation of
an independent committee to further
study the results of coaching programs
on test scores.
Seppy Basili, vice president at Kaplan
State & Nation
Inc., a test preparation company,
echoed Perez.
“The results do not surprise me
because of the methodology (Briggs)
used,” he said. “The author did not
make any distinctions in the kinds of
preparation.”
Basili explained that the results of
preparation programs could vary
depending on the amount of time stu
dents commit to preparing for the test.
He said students who spend 36 hours
a week are more likely to show
improvement than those who spend
only 16 horns. “Those preparing for the
SAT 36 hours a week improve their
scores by 120 points,” he said.
Basili also stressed the importance of
standardized tests as a factor in college
admissions.
“The SAT is only one of many fac
tors that influence on the decision to
accept a student to a university, and I
don’t think the role of the test in the
admission process is too much empha
sized,” he said. “The rapid growth of
our company is the most obvious sign of
the public recognition of our methods
and results.”
The State & National Editor can be
reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.
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Network Would Ease Transfers
By Sally Francis
Staff Writer
Community college officials are mak
ing it easier for black students to trans
fer across state lines to historically black
colleges and universities by establishing
an outline for transfer credits.
Although many states, including
North Carolina, have transfer credit
agreements between community col
leges and four-year institutions, this pro
posal would create a course-to-course
agreement that would have national
implications, allowing students to trans
fer more easily to schools in other states.
The transfer credit agreements spec
ify which community college course
credits will transfer to four-year col
leges, helping students complete their
college educations without the delays
often caused by transfer confusion.
Philip Day, chancellor of the City
College of San Francisco and coordina
tor of the plan, said the program will
help erase a racial gap between the per
centage of black and white students who
graduate from a four-university.
Day added that the number of col
lege graduates has increased overall
since 1970, but the number of black stu
dent graduates has failed to keep pace.
He said the plan, which targets black
students at community colleges who
want to earn a baccalaureate degree
from a four-year university, will help
make up the racial difference in gradu
ation rates.
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Advocates of the plan said students
who transfer into four-year institutions
their junior years will not increase
enrollment but will replace those who
have withdrawn from college. The plan
aims to enable more blacks to graduate
with baccalaureate degrees.
No N.C. college is participating in
this national initiative.
“Given that there are pressures on
North Carolina and we are hard pressed
to educate 50,000 North Carolina stu
dents, it is not to our advantage to solic
it new students from out of state,” said
Gretchen Bataille, UNC-system vice
president of academic affairs.
But Audrey Bailey, N.C. Community
College System spokeswoman, said any
thing that allows community colleges to
help their students succeed is positive.
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“While our focus is on continuing edu
cation and work-force training, our focus
on transfers is growing," Bailey said.
This initiative also hopes to link high
schools, community colleges and four
year institutions together and create
joint admissions agreements to motivate
and guide students into the network.
Day has applied to the Ford
Foundation, Mott Foundation and Met
Life Foundation and said he hopes to
tap into federal funding to gain mone
tary support.
“The problem with funding is getting
the network established, but once it gets
started, I think the institutions will make
the commitment”
The State & National Editor can be
reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.
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