tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002675950760488813.post8427702540279614995..comments2024-01-21T14:11:10.779-08:00Comments on The Unsilenced Science: The SAT in Red, White, and Brownnooffensebuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02461190919466049463noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002675950760488813.post-19712511979977090012017-08-25T09:32:26.927-07:002017-08-25T09:32:26.927-07:00Could you please make the graphs a little smaller?...Could you please make the graphs a little smaller? I can almost read these.Hank Archerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08603815583299960803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002675950760488813.post-10530588445528521442011-09-18T04:39:37.495-07:002011-09-18T04:39:37.495-07:00Test prep may influence the gaps somewhat. This pa...Test prep may influence the gaps somewhat. <a href="http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/social_forces/v089/89.2.buchmann.html" rel="nofollow">This paper</a> shows that whites are less likely to do test prep than Asians, blacks, and Hispanics. <a href="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/52/sattestprep.jpg/" rel="nofollow">Here's a relevant chart</a> from the paper.<br /><br />They also studied the effectiveness of different types of test prep:<br /><br /><i>As the coefficient in Model 2 indicates, test-takers gain about 10 points on the SAT by utilizing the next-highest level of test preparation. To delineate more precisely how different types of test prep are related to SAT scores, Model 3 replaces the ordinal measure with the more interpretable categorical coding. Using books, videos or computer software with no other type of prep does not significantly boost SAT scores (although the effect is positive). The other three forms of test preparation bolster SAT scores. Compared to using no prep, taking a high-school course produces a gain of about 26 points. Taking a private/commercial course boosts scores by about 30 points and a private tutor increases scores by about 37 points. By estimating both measures of highest-level test preparation, we can see that the apparent overall boost of 10 points per unit on the scale actually stems from disproportionate gains from the higher levels of prep and no real gain from the use of books, videos or software. These estimates are much smaller than the gains of 100 points or more that test prep companies advertise. They are also more in line with results of studies that similarly account for potentially confounding factors (Briggs 2001, 2009) and smaller scale studies using data on pre- and post-test preparation SAT scores that find score gains in the range of 20-30 points (Powers 1998; Powers and Rock 1998; College Board 1999).</i>JLnoreply@blogger.com