SAT scores may not count in 2003

Educational experts in the United States are divided over whether to keep or abolish the scholastic aptitude test (SAT) for college-bound high school students. The University of California (UC), a leading state university in the west, provoked debate by proposing to drop SAT scores from the essential criteria for admission. At the Educational Association of America conference held on Sunday, University of California president Richard Atkinson recommended that the SAT`s not be used in student selection on campuses affiliated with his university, including Berkeley, in and after 2003.

Some 2,000 applicants have taken Korean language tests every year since November 1997, when it was incorporated into the SAT II. Such Ivy League schools as Harvard and Stanford began using the scores in choosing students. Korean students are likely to suffer disadvantages in entering American universities if the University of California goes ahead with plans to abolish the use of SAT scores. Atkinson based his recommendation on what he believes to be the test`s failure to accurately measure learning achievements in high school.

UC has produced over 40 Nobel laureates and its affiliates extend to ten campuses with 175,000 students. The University of California in Merced is expected to open in 2004.

On the other hand, the National Commission for Universities, which administers the SAT, pointed out that ignoring SAT scores would be tantamount to abandoning curricular grades and that there is no alternative to the test as far assessing the scholarship of students is concerned.

About nine out of ten American universities and colleges use the SATs in selecting students. SAT I evaluates English, mathematics and essay writing; SAT II aims to measure the knowledge and talent of students in other areas, namely languages (writing and literature), mathematics, history, sociology and sciences (physics, chemistry and biology).