College-Bound Seniors. Basic Report. Tutorial. A guide to use and interpret the report

Transcription

1 College-Bound Seniors Basic Report Tutorial A guide to use and interpret the report

2 Tutorial Contents Introduction Report Table Number and Title Data Overall Mean Scores Mean Scores by Gender Year in Which Seniors Last Took the Mean Scores for State and Group Percentiles for High School, State, and Group Score Distributions Mean Scores by Ethnicity SAT Subject Tests Data 8 and Tests for SAT Subject Tests Mean Scores for SAT Subject Tests and for Students Who Also Took the College Plans Institutions That Received the Most SAT Program Score Reports from Your Students Glossary of Common Statistics Additional Resources

3 The College-Bound Seniors reports include the Basic Report, the Profile Report, and the Highlights Report. The reports provide standard and customized information based on SAT Reasoning Test and SAT Subject Tests results for collegebound seniors. The reports also include information gained from students responses to the SAT Questionnaire. These reports serve as a valuable resource and may be used alone or in conjunction with each other to interpret and understand your students participation and performance in the SAT Program. Introduction This tutorial focuses on the Basic Report. It is designed to help you understand and use the College-Bound Seniors Basic Report by guiding you through information presented in the report. For each table, the tutorial provides a description of the information presented and tips and cautions to aid in interpreting the data. The is a measure of the critical thinking skills that students need for academic success in college. The SAT assesses how well students analyze and solve problems skills learned in high school that are needed in college. The SAT is typically taken by high school juniors and seniors. SAT Subject Tests are designed to measure students knowledge and skills in particular subject areas, as well as their ability to apply that knowledge. Students take the Subject Tests to demonstrate their mastery of specific subjects: English, history, mathematics, science, and languages. About the Assessments and the SAT Questionnaire The SAT Questionnaire is an optional questionnaire completed by most students when they register to take SAT Program tests. It provides self-reported information about the students educational background, academic records and course-taking patterns; and demographic information such as gender, ethnicity, parental level of education, and household income.

4 Information in the Report Students Included in the Report Common Statistics The Basic Report provides data for and Subject Test performance. The Basic Report also provides a list of the colleges, universities, and scholarship programs that received the most score reports from your students, and the number and percent of your score senders for each of these institutions. The College-Bound Seniors reports are based on the cohort of students who are in the current class of graduating high school seniors and who participated in the SAT Program at any time during their high school careers. If a student took a test more than once, the score from the most recent administration is used. Students are counted once no matter how often they tested. The reports use only the student s most recent SAT Questionnaire responses. For example, if a senior took the in May of his or her junior year and again in October of his or her senior year, only the score from the October administration is used. The College-Bound Seniors reports use a variety of statistics to summarize the data and represent the distribution of scores in ways that will be most meaningful for the interpretation of students performance. These include the mean, standard deviation, median, percentiles, and score ranges. A glossary of common statistics used in the reports is provided in the appendix of the tutorial. Icons Used in This Tutorial Tip Question of Interest Sample Finding Note

5 The tables of information in the College-Bound Seniors Basic Report are organized into three main sections: SAT Reasoning Test Data, SAT Subject Tests Data, and College Plans. Data are provided on pages and of your report and include Tables 7. Report Overview SAT Subject Tests Data are provided on page of your report and include Tables 8 and 9. College Plans are covered in Table on page of your report. The College-Bound Seniors reports offer a variety of information about your students. Data tables in these reports may be cross-referenced when examining students test scores. Use Comparison Groups Use comparison groups as points of reference when evaluating mean scores for your students. Examine the SAT Reasoning Test mean scores for your students in relation to the average scores for the state and the total group of testtakers. Examine your students scores at a percentile in comparison to the state and total group scores at the same percentile. Important Tips to Get the Most from the Data Look at Trends Reports for current and previous years for states and the nation are available on the College Board Web site, College Plans Examine your students and SAT Subject Tests scores in the context of the types of institutions to which they send their score reports in order to guide them to institutions that will serve them well. Look at students performance relative to the selection criteria and admissions requirements.

6 The Basic Report Data Page * About Table : Overall Mean Scores Table provides the total number and the mean scores for each content area for students in the senior class from your high school who took the. The mean is the arithmetic average of a set of scores. To calculate the mean, the scores are totaled and the sum divided by the number of scores. The standard deviation is a measure of the variability of a set of scores. 6 College-Bound Seniors SAMPLE HIGH SCHOOL Data Data in this report are for high school graduates in the year 6. Information is summarized for seniors who took the at any time during their high school years through April 6. If a student took the test more than once, the most recent score is used. Table : Overall Mean Scores S AT Reasoning Test * Number Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Table : Mean Scores by Gender Number Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Male Female Table : Year in Which Seniors Last Took the Scores are from the last administration in which seniors took the. Number Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Senior Junior Sophomore Freshman Table : Mean Scores for State and Group Mean scores for the state and total group may serve as points of reference when evaluating mean scores for the high school. Number Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Sample State Group,6, *Writing data are based on students who took the current version of the, first administered in March. Of the students in this report, 8 students have scores on the SAT writing section. NOTE: Mean scores are reported when there are or more test-takers. Standard deviations are reported when there are or more test-takers. Table : Overall Mean Scores Number Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Consider the total number of students enrolled in the senior class of your high school to determine the percent of your students that are participating in the. Are the number and percentage of SAT takers representative of the number of your students planning to go to college? Mean scores are reported when there are five or more test-takers. Standard deviations are reported when there are or more test-takers. * Note: The page numbers listed here refer to the corresponding page numbers in the College-Bound Seniors High School Basic Report.

7 Data Page, continued About Table : Mean Scores by Gender Table provides the total number and the mean scores for males and the total number and mean scores for females in the senior class from your high school who took the. Table : Mean Scores by Gender Male Female Number Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Examine participation and performance for males and females to determine if there are gender gaps or differences. Are the number and percentage of SAT takers representative of the number of your students planning to go to college? About Table : Year in Which Seniors Last Took the Table indicates the class year (senior, junior, sophomore, or freshman) in which seniors last took the. The table provides the number and the mean scores of seniors who last took the SAT Reasoning Test in each designated class year. Table : Year in Which Seniors Last Took the Scores are from the last administration in which seniors took the. Senior Junior Sophomore Freshman Number Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Sample Finding: In the example above, the greatest number of students take the in their junior year.

8 Data Page, continued About Table : Mean Scores for State and Group Table provides the number of students and mean scores for takers in your state and in the total group. The total group includes scores for college-bound seniors in the United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Territories, and abroad who took the at some point during their high school years. Table : Mean Scores for State and Group Mean scores for the state and total group may serve as points of reference when evaluating mean scores for the high school. Sample State Group Number Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD ,6, Mean scores for the state and total group may serve as points of reference when evaluating the performance of your high school seniors. Sample Finding: Based on the example above, students in the state perform substantially higher than the total group in the mathematics section. Students in your high school and in the state exhibit similar performance in this content area, with mean scores of 66. When comparing test scores for your students, the state, and the total group, it is important to consider the proportion of students taking the test. Schools, districts, and states will have varying participation rates. If a school, district, or state has a smaller number of students with strong academic backgrounds who chose to take the test, it would be expected that the mean scores reported for those students would be higher than the total group average.

9 6 College-Bound Seniors SAMPLE HIGH SCHOOL Data Page About Table : Percentiles for High School, State, and Group The percentile is the point of the measurement scale below which a defined percentage of scores falls. Table indicates SAT Reasoning Test scores for your high school, your state, and the total group at the th, th, and 7th percentiles. Data Table : Percentiles for High School, State, and Group A percentile represents the point below which a percentage of scores fall. Comparing the th percentile point to the 7th percentile point gives an idea of the range of performance in a group. High School Critical Critical Critical Percentile Reading Mathematics Writing Reading Mathematics Writing Reading Mathematics Writing 7th th th 8 Table 6: Score Distributions Score Range Male Critical Reading Female 9 8 Male State Mathematics Female Male Group 6 Writing Female Table 7: Mean Scores by Ethnicity Who Described Themselves As: American Indian or Alaska Native Asian, Asian American, or Pacific Islander Black or African American Mexican or Mexican American Puerto Rican Other Hispanic, Latino, or Latin American White Other No Response* Number Pct Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD *'No Response' indicates that students did not answer that question, did not complete the SAT Questionnaire, or stated that they did not wish to answer that question in their SAT Questionnaire. NOTE: Percentiles are reported when there are or more test-takers. Table : Percentiles for High School, State, and Group A percentile represents the point below which a percentage of scores fall. Comparing the th percentile point to the 7th percentile point gives an idea of the range of performance in a group. High School State Group Critical Critical Critical Percentile Reading Mathematics Writing Reading Mathematics Writing Reading Mathematics Writing 7th th th The th percentile point, like the mean, gives an idea of the performance of a typical student. For a given score at the th percentile, percent of scores for seniors are below that score and percent of scores are above that score. Comparing the th percentile point to the 7th percentile point gives an idea of the range of performance in a group. Your students scores at a percentile may be examined relative to state and total group scores at the same percentile. Sample Finding: In the example above, the Critical Reading score of at the th percentile for students in the high school is the same as the state score of, and is lower than the total group score of at the same percentile.

10 Data Page, continued About Table 6: Score Distributions Score range shows the number of students who obtain scores that fall in each score interval. Table 6 provides a breakdown of the number of students at each score interval by gender for each test section. Table 6: Score Distributions Score Range Critical Reading Male Female Male Mathematics Female 8 7 Male Writing Female Score distributions offer a snapshot of where your students fall within the total distribution of scores. By arranging scores in descending order and grouping scores in certain ranges (every points), it is easier to get an overall picture of the scores of your students and their performance on the.

11 Data Page, continued About Table 7: Mean Scores by Ethnicity Information about students race/ethnicity is gained from self-reported information on the SAT Questionnaire. Students are asked how they would describe themselves and are offered a choice of the racial/ethnicity categories listed in this table. No Response indicates that students did not answer the question, did not complete the SAT Questionnaire, or elected not to answer. Table 7: Mean Scores by Ethnicity Who Described Themselves As: American Indian or Alaska Native Asian, Asian American, or Pacific Islander Black or African American Mexican or Mexican American Puerto Rican Other Hispanic, Latino, or Latin American White Other No Response* Number Pct Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD *'No Response' indicates that students did not answer that question, did not complete the SAT Questionnaire, or stated that they did not wish to answer that question in their SAT Questionnaire Examine the participation and performance of different subgroups of students. Use the information to identify gaps or differences between scores for subgroups of students. The number of students who took the broken out for each race/ethnic group may be matched with enrollment data to determine SAT participation rates for subgroups of students. Is the percentage of students within each ethnic group participating in the comparable to the percentage of students within each ethnic group enrolled in the senior class of your high school? Are there substantial differences in the mean scores for subgroups of students? One of the most significant factors to consider in interpreting scores for any subgroup of test-takers is the proportion of students taking the test. Look at participation rates of subgroups when evaluating scores.

12 6 College-Bound Seniors SAMPLE HIGH SCHOOL SAT Subject Tests Data Page About Table 8 : and Tests for SAT Subject Tests This table provides the number of your seniors who took at least one SAT Subject Test, and the number of SAT Subject Tests taken by your seniors. In the example below, 8 students took a total of SAT Subject Tests. Students Who Took an SAT Subject Test and Also Took the SAT Reasoning Test indicates the number and the mean score for your seniors who took at least one SAT Subject Test and also took the. SAT Subject Tests Data Table 8: and Tests for SAT Subject Tests Students Who Took SAT Subject Tests Tests Students Who Took an SAT Subject Test and Also Took the Critical Reading Mean Mathematics Mean Students Who Took One or More Different SAT Subject Tests Tests Taken Percent of Who Took One or More Tests or More Table 9: Mean Scores for SAT Subject Tests and for Students Who Also Took the Most, but not all, students who take the SAT Subject Tests also take the. This table provides a side-by-side presentation of the two scores for those students who took both tests. English N SAT Subject Test Mean Writing Mean SD N Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD 7 68 Writing* Literature History and Social Studies U.S. History World History Mathematics Mathematics Level Mathematics Level 6 9 Science Biology-E Biology-M Chemistry Physics 79 7 Foreign and Classical Languages Chinese/Listening French French/Listening German German/Listening Modern Hebrew Italian Japanese/Listening Korean/Listening Latin Spanish Spanish/Listening *After the January administration, the SAT Subject Test in Writing was no longer administered because the now includes the writing section; 6 is the last year for which scores for the SAT Subject Test in Writing are reported. NOTE: The ELPT (English Language Proficiency Test) was last administered in January. Please consult the College-Bound Seniors Reports for data on ELPT. Shown in the table under the heading Students Who Took One or More Different SAT Subject Tests are the number of SAT Subject Tests that an individual student took, the total number of students who took each specified number of SAT Subject Tests, and the percentage of students who took a specified number of SAT Subject Tests. Table 8: and Tests for SAT Subject Tests Students Who Took SAT Subject Tests Tests Students Who Took an SAT Subject Test and Also Took the Critical Reading Mean Mathematics Mean Students Who Took One or More Different SAT Subject Tests Tests Taken Percent of Who Took One or More Tests or More Writing Mean The mean score for those students who also took an SAT Subject Test may be compared to the overall mean score for the seniors in your cohort, which is provided in Table. Track the degree of participation in the SAT Subject Test Program to determine if more students are taking an increasing number of different SAT Subject Tests. Sample Finding: Of the 8 students who took SAT Subject Tests, 6 also took the. The mean score for the Critical Reading section for these students is 8. Sample Finding: Most students took more than one different SAT Subject Test; 7 students, or percent of students who took at least one subject test, took three different subject tests.

13 SAT Subject Tests Data Page, continued About Table 9: Mean Scores for SAT Subject Tests and for Students Who Also Took the This table specifies the number of students and provides mean scores for students who took each SAT Subject Test. This table also provides the number of students and the mean scores for your seniors who took at least one SAT Subject Test and also took the. Most, but not all, students who take the SAT Subject Tests also take the. This provides a side-by-side presentation of the two scores for those students who took both tests. Table 9: Mean Scores for SAT Subject Tests and for Students Who Also Took the Most, but not all, students who take the SAT Subject Tests also take the. This table provides a side-by-side presentation of the two scores for those students who took both tests. English N SAT Subject Test Mean SD N Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Writing* Literature History and Social Studies U.S. History World History Mathematics Mathematics Level Mathematics Level Science Biology-E Biology-M Chemistry Physics Foreign and Classical Languages Examine how students who took both an SAT Subject Test and the performed on the. Look at these scores in relation to the overall mean scores for the for your students, which are provided in Table. Examine how many students took each Subject Test and identify which Subject Tests are taken by the most students. Sample Finding: In the example above, students took the SAT Subject Test in Physics. The mean score for those students on that subject test is 6, and the standard deviation of scores around the mean is. Of the students who took the SAT Subject Test in Physics, 6 students also took the SAT Reasoning Test. The mean score on the mathematics section of the for those students who took both the SAT Subject Test in Physics and the is 69, and the standard deviation of scores around the mean is 79. Sample Finding: In the table above, the largest number of students took the Mathematics Level and Mathematics Level SAT Subject Tests. For SAT Subject Tests, different groups of students take different Subject Tests. Therefore, scores for one test may not be compared with scores of a different Subject Test. For example, the mean score for the Subject Test in Chemistry should not be compared to the mean score for the Subject Test in English Literature.

14 College Plans Page About Table : Institutions That Received the Most SAT Program Score Reports from Your Students Table provides a list of the institutions or programs that received the most SAT Program Score Reports from your students. When they register to take the, students may designate up to four institutions or scholarship programs to receive their score reports. The number of students shown in the table indicates the number who designated that their SAT Program Score Reports be sent to a specific institution. Of the students who designated that their SAT Program Score Reports be sent to institutions, the percentage of score senders indicates the percentage who had their scores sent to a specific institution. Table : Institutions That Received the Most SAT Program Score Reports from Your Students Of the students from your school who participated in the SAT Program, designated that their SAT score reports be sent to institutions. Students may designate more than one institution to receive scores. This list includes only the institutions that received the most score reports. A total of institutions received score reports from your students. Institution State Type Students Percent of Score Senders* MA CA CT MA NJ NY CA TX MI MA RI NY CA IN Public Public Public Public Public Public This information helps you track the locations, the types of institutions, and the specific colleges or universities that your students are most interested in attending for their postsecondary education. Look at students performance on the and SAT Subject Tests relative to the selection criteria and the admissions requirements of the institutions to which your students send their score reports. This is not an itemized list of all the institutions that received score reports from your students. If a total of institutions received score reports from your students, and of the institutions that received the most score reports are listed in the table, there are 8 additional institutions, not listed, that also received score reports from your students.

15 The Mean The mean is the arithmetic average of a set of scores. To calculate the mean, the scores are totaled and the sum divided by the number of scores. Standard Deviation The standard deviation is a measure of the variability of a set of scores. If test scores cluster tightly around the mean score, as they do when the group tested is relatively homogeneous, the standard deviation is smaller than it would be with a more diverse group that has a greater scatter of scores around the mean. Glossary of Common Statistics The Median The median is the point on a frequency distribution marking the th percentile. It represents the score below which percent of the cases in a score distribution fall. The median or th percentile point, like the mean, gives an idea of the performance of a typical student. If the distribution of scores is symmetric, the median and the mean will be almost identical. With smaller sets of scores, the mean may be distorted by a few scores on the extreme high or low end of the distribution. In these instances, the median or th percentile point may be a better summary description of the group than the mean. The Middle th Percent Range The middle th percent range provides additional information about the distribution of scores. The middle th percent range shows the score range between the th and the 7th percentiles. It gives an idea of the range of performance for the group of scores that are in the middle of the distribution. Percentile The percentile is the point on the measurement scale below which a defined percentage of scores falls. The th, th, and 7th percentile points are often reported for large data sets. Correlation Correlation refers to the extent that two variables are related. If high scores on one variable are related to high scores on the second variable, the relationship is positive. Most correlations of test scores and measures of academic success are positive.

16 Additional Resources and SAT Subject Tests College-Bound Seniors Report Index Page The College-Bound Seniors index page lists SAT participation and performance reports for states and the nation. Reports are available from 996 to the present. cbsenior/yr/reports.html SAT Program Handbook The SAT Program Handbook contains valuable information about the reliability and validity of the SAT Reasoning Test and the SAT Subject Tests and includes facts about the program, research, scores, and score reporting. prof/counselors/tests/sat/-6-sat-programhandbook.pdf Guidelines on the Uses of College Board Test Scores and Related Data This College Board publication highlights proper and beneficial uses of test scores and cautions against uses that are inappropriate. It includes sections on the responsibilities of the College Board and other institutions, agencies, and organizations, as well as guidelines for counseling. Research Reports 6 The College Board. All rights reserved. College Board, SAT, and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of the College Board. connect to college success, SAT Reasoning Test, and SAT Subject Tests are trademarks owned by the College Board. All other products and services may be trademarks of their respective owners. Visit the College Board on the Web: