Transcript for SAT to include new ‘adversity score’
Thanks very much. Thousand to that big change in the S.A.T. This is coming in the wake of the college admissions scandal. The organization behind the exam announcing that all students will get an adversity score. Our chief national affairs correspondent Tom llamas is here with more. Good morning to you. This is a major move that could have a profound impact on the 2 million students that take the S.A.T.S every year. The days of just getting tested in verbal and math proficiency may be over. Can you measure grit and is that fair? This morning, we’re learning more about a new tool now being tested to possibly help level the college playing field and curb admission scandals like some seen in the “Varsity blues” investigation including what happened with felicity Huffman who pleaded guilty to paying big bucks to increase her daughter’s test scores. The college board responsible for the S.A.T. Planning to assign an adversity score along with the actual test score for each student. I think this tool is completely honest and says to students with less, we get that you have less. We’re honest about that. But you can still achieve at a very high level and tell students with a lot of privilege, hey, we recognize that about you too and we will expect more from you. Reporter: Here’s how it works. On a scale of 1 to 100 the college board will calculate a student’s disadvantage level by looking at the student’s neighborhood, family and school. 15 factors will be examined closely such as crime, the poverty rate and median income in their neighborhood. Also, is the student raised by a single parent? Is English a second language? Already 50 schools have tested the system with a planned rollout of 150 more. But not everyone is on board. The Dean of Georgetown telling “The Washington post” we have so much personal data on all of our applicants that we don’t feel the need for a tool like this. Now, if you noticed I didn’t mention the word race. The college board says they will not take that into account. The thinking that courts have challenged affirmative action policies at universities and they’re trying to make this bulletproof. Again, still being tested out and some schools have made it clear they’re not on board but many like this idea and like they can put the S.A.T. Score in more context. It does seem like a fair solution. Okay, Tom, thanks. New developments in the
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