Full Description
Each year millions of high school junior and seniors across the country, armed with standard issue No. 2 pencils and in various states of battle-readiness, face one of life's most gut-wrenching rites of passage: the SAT. Award-winning journalist David Owen first exposed the often biased, unscientific, and secretive manufacturing, grading, and distribution of this much-dreaded test by its creator, the Educational Testing Service (ETS), in 1985's widely acclaimed None of the Above: Behind the Myth of Scholastic Aptitude. Part devastating expose, part savvy test guide, this bestselling book demystified the development of the SAT and offered many practical strategies on how to beat the test. Now, fifteen years later, Owen's book, completely revised and updated by educator Marilyn Doerr and with a new preface by the author, is more relevant than ever for students, their parents, and those who believe in the importance of educational opportunity for all. Praise for the First Edition: Owen's intelligent, peppery style makes the confusing jargon of statistics and educational theory understandable, something ETS has striven hard to avoid.-Stevenson Swanson, Chicago Tribune This book should be read-with guffaws-by any educator who ever cringed before an SAT score.-Virginia Robinson, Education Times The reader will appreciate this book, among other reasons, for the excellent advice it offers on beating the tests.-Publishers Weekly An angry book (though often a very funny one), and with good reason: the SAT is a scam. -Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post
Contents
Chapter 1 Preface to the New Edition Chapter 2 Preface to the New Edition Chapter 3 Foreword Chapter 4 Introduction: High Anxiety Chapter 5 The Kettle Defense Chapter 6 Holistic Grading Chapter 7 Multiple Guess Chapter 8 Numbers Chapter 9 Tempting the Medicine Freaks Chapter 10 Coaching Chapter 11 Beating the Test Chapter 12 Test Security Chapter 13 The Cult of Mental Measurement Chapter 14 Brains Chapter 15 Mythology Chapter 16 Testing and Teachers Chapter 17 Testing and Society: What Can Be Done? Chapter 18 Appendix A: A Poisoned Question Chapter 19 Appendix B: Illegal Test Use Chapter 20 Notes Chapter 21 Index
