The College at Brockport: State University of New York Digital Commons @Brockport Counselor Education Master's Theses Counselor Education 2008 Factors that Impact Performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) between Urban High School Seniors and their Parents. LaConda T. Graham The College at Brockport, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at:http://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/edc_theses Part of theStudent Counseling and Personnel Services Commons Repository Citation Graham, LaConda T., "Factors that Impact Performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) between Urban High School Seniors and their Parents." (2008).Counselor Education Master's Theses. 41. http://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/edc_theses/41 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Counselor Education at Digital Commons @Brockport. It has been accepted for inclusion in Counselor Education Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @Brockport. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Factors that Impact 1 Running head: FACTORS THAT IMPACT Factors that Impact Performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) between Urban High School Seniors and their Parents. LaConda T. Graham The College at Brockport Factors that Impact 2 Acknowledgements First and Foremost I would like to thank my Lord and savior Jesus Christ, for without him this particular journey of my life would have seemed impossible. I would also like to thank the faculty members at The College at Brockport who have helped me through this challenging process of attaining my higher education. In addition, I would like to thank my colleagues whom I have conversed with over my educational career; whether it was simple feedback, or just a skill we all developed called listening; either way I thank you and I deeply appreciate the experience. A special thanks to those colleagues who motivated me throughout this whole thesis, who have helped me to plan my time wisely and pushed me to keep working when I felt like giving up. Finally saving the best for last; I would like to thank my friends and my family, who have supported me through this journey of my life. To my mother who has been my inspiration and has encouraged me and been my biggest fan through my life. She once planted a flower without knowing how it would grow. All she knew how to do was feed, love, and care for it in the best possible way. Who would have ever thought that this flower would grow and become a success for others to pick and place in their garden. Once I again I thank you for the fight you instilled in me and the support you provided as I strived to attain my Master’s Degree. Factors that Impact 3 Abstract The purpose of this researched is to highlight important factors that adversely affect scores of high school seniors taking the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). In this research there has been a lot of speculation regarding the possible correlation between the scores received by urban high seniors on the SAT exam, occupied with the level of their parent’s education. This research has investigated the question of; does a parent’s education influence their child’s academic achievement? The purpose of this research is to help high school counselor’s gain an understanding of why urban students perform so much lower academically, in comparison to their suburban counterparts which also lead to equally lowers scores on SAT’s. A survey was administered to high school seniors regarding their parent’s education as well as acquiring knowledge regarding preparation and test taking of the SAT exam. Factors that Impact 4 Table of Contents 1) Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………………2 2) Abstract……………………………………………………………………………..…………3 3) List of Tables and Figure……………………………………………………………………...6 4) Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………7 5) Review of the Literature………………………………………………………………………9 a) Educators………………………………………………………………………………….9 b) Parents Education………………………………………………………………………...11 c) Parents Involvement ……………………………………………………………………..13 d) Low-Income Household…………………………………………………………………15 i) Dropout rate………………………………………………………………………….17 e) The Gap………………………………………………………………………………….18 6) Methods………………………………………………………………………………………20 a) Setting…………………………………………………………………………………….20 b) Participation………………………………………………………………………………21 c) Procedures…………………………………………………………………………...……21 d) Evaluation………………………………………………………………………………...21 e) Purpose of Research……………………………………………………………………...21 7) Results………………………………………………………………………………………..22 8) Discussion……………………………………………………………………………………25 a) Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………………….25 b) Limitations……………………………………………………………………………….28 Factors that Impact 5 c) Implication for Counseling………………………………………………………………29 d) Implications for future research.........................................................................................29 e) Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….30 9) References……………………………………………………………………………………32 10) Appendices.…………………………………………………………………………………..38 a) Appendix A: Parent Consent……………………………………………….……………39 b) Appendix B: Student Consent……………………………………………………...……41 c) Appendix C: Survey…………………………………………………………………...…43 Factors that Impact 6 Tables and Figures Item 1: The SATs are very important............................................................................................22 Item 2: I need to take the SAT to go to college………………….………………………………22 Item 3: I studied for SAT exam………………………………………………………………….22 Item 4: I know how to study for SAT exam……………………………………………………..22 Item 5: I should take the PSAT…………………………………………………………………..22 Item 6: There is a practice SAT………………………………………………………………….22 Item 7: I know when to take the PSAT/SAT…………………………………………………….22 Item 8: Someone talked to me about the SATs…………………………………………………..23 Item 9: My parent/guardian talked to me about the SATs……………………………………….23 Item 10: One or both parent/guardian took the SAT…………………………………………….23 Item 11: One or both parent/guardian graduated from high school…………………………...…23 Item: 12: One or both parent/guardian went to college……………………………………….…23 Item 13: One or both parent/guardian graduated from college……………………………..……23 Item 14: I know where to get a SAT free wavier…………………………………...……………23 Item 15: I know where to get a college free wavier……………………………………………...23 Item 16: I know what SAT stands for……………………………………………………………23 Item 17: I know everything I need to know about SAT…………………………………………23 Item 18: What are your plans after high school………………………………………………….23 Factors that Impact 7 Across the U.S., it has been shown that urban students’ score lower than suburban students on standardized academic achievement test (Steele, 1997). Although equipped with this information, most colleges still rely on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) as the main criteria for admission to their education institution. To better understand the complete picture, let’s define the test in question. What exactly is the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)? The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), is a standardized test used to determine college admissions in the United States (Zwick, 2002). According to the College Board the SAT measures critical thinking skills that are needed for academic success in college (Sacks, 2001). The SAT assesses how well the test takers analyze and solve problems (Hoffman, 1962). The SAT is a test typically taken in the junior and/or senior year of high school. When combining the SAT scores along with the student’s grade point average, it gives colleges a standard for admissions or rejection to their institution (Zwick, 2002). Research stated that by a student’s junior year, academically one should have had enough math, writing and critical reading to take the SAT’s (Hoffman, 1962). According to Hoffman (1962) the SAT has three major sections: Mathematics, Critical Reading, and Writing, with each section possessing the ability to receive a score up 200–800 points (Hoffman, 1962). The test scored is in multiples of 10 (Hoffman, 1962). Individuals can calculate their score by adding the three sections together (Gould, 1996). Each major section is divided into three parts (Gould, 1996). There are 10 subsections, including an additional 25-minute experimental or "equating" section that may be in any of the three major sections (Hoffman, 1962). The experimental section is for administration use only and does not count toward the final score (Hoffman, 1962). The test runs about three hours and 45 minutes of actual timed sections; but when including Factors that Impact 8 orientation, distribution of materials, and completion of the biographical sections (10–25 minutes per each section), the actual timing runs closer to five hours (Hoffman, 1962). The SAT is offered throughout the entire school year in the United States. The test is administered once in October, November, December, January, March (or April, alternating), May, and June (Gould, 1996). The SAT test is typically offered on the first Saturday of the month during months of the November, December, May, and June administrations (Gould, 1996).In 2006, the exam was taken 1,465,744 times (Gould, 1996). Parents and students that lack knowledge about the SAT’s may not be aware that students wishing to take the test may register online at the College Board's website, by mail, or by telephone, at least three weeks before the test date (Sacks, 2001). The SAT is administered in a large book on test day (Sacks, 2001). To take the SAT test it costs $43 ($68 International), (Sacks, 2001). The College Board makes fee waivers available for low income school districts (Sacks, 2001). Additional fees apply for late registration, standby testing, registration changes, scores by telephone, and extra score reports (beyond the four provided for free), (Owen, 1999). Students whose religious beliefs prevent them from taking the test on Saturday, may request to take the test on the following Sunday (Owen, 1999). Such requests must be made at the time of registration and are subject to approval (Owen, 1999). A lot of urban parents and students are unfamiliar with SAT information. There are students and parents who lack knowledge and understanding of how important SAT scores are to the college admission process. According to research, in order for urban student’s to get into college, circumstances seem to be designed to prevent admissions due to the competitiveness of being admitted into college and scoring well on the SAT exam (Walpole, 2005). How is it that Factors that Impact 9 students of an urban district score much lower then that of the suburban district? Review of the Literature Information on Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is becoming widely available as it pertains to urban students, and their parents education in relation to preparing and taking the exam. This literature review discusses the issues of urban educators, how educators play a significant role in providing students with unbiased education; this literature review will also examine the responsibility of education held by parents of urban students. If the parent lacks the knowledge to educate their child on the importance of SAT exams, then that could be one of the major reasons why there is such a big gap when it comes to scores. Finally, after reviewing the educator’s and the parent’s connection with their child’s education there is the need to know how urban students actually perform on the SAT exam. According to Green and Griffore, testing has become big business which affects the lives of American youth in a profound way. Early in their educational careers, student’s are organized and categorized on the basis of standardized test (Green & Griffore, 1980). As they journey through grades advancing toward graduation from high school, the test become more and more life-determining (Green & Griffore, 1980). The negative aspects of testing procedures are especially apparent with respect to racial minorities, since tests can serve as a convenient tool for rationalizing discriminatory practices (Green & Griffore, 1980). Because of all the past discrimination in education through out history in racial minorities, as a group, have not performed well on standardized tests when compared to their white counterparts (Green & Griffore, 1980).