Re: [MATHEDCC] Math in the high schools

Geoffrey Akst (akst@idt.net)
Mon, 21 Apr 1997 11:40:12 -0500

Sometimes tests do things well even if they're not designed for
that purpose. Does anyone know of any studies in which admissions tests
such as the SAT or the ACT batteries were used as measures of mathematics
achievement or of success in subsequent math courses?

Geoff Akst

>Let's not forget what a SAT/ACT is designed (and validated) to do -- predict
>student success in college. It is not a valid instrument for measuring how
>much
>mathematics a student knows or can do. A student may indeed know a good
>deal of mathematics but not perform well on standardized timed tests such
>as the SAT.
>
>As for study habits, many developmental students do not have a successful
>strategy for learning and studying math. This is at least partly because
>they don't effectively learn using the same techniques as most of us.
>Most of my students don't memorize easily, many are not what I would call
>"linear" thinkers, many have short attention spans, and many have
>difficulty moving directly to the abstract i.e. they need to bridge their
>thinking even as adults from the concrete to the abstract.
>
>--Laura
>-------------------------------------------------------------
>Laura Bracken Petersen petersen@lcsc.edu
>
>Division of Natural Sciences PHONE 208-799-2484
>Lewis-Clark State College FAX 208-799-2064
>500 8th Avenue
>Lewiston ID 83501-2698 USA
>-------------------------------------------------------------
>
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Geoffrey Akst
Mathematics Department
Manhattan Community College
199 Chambers Street
NY, NY 10007
(v) 212/346-8530, -8531, -8532
(f) 212/346-8550
(e) akst@idt.net

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