More minority students (40 percent of all test-takers nationally) took the Scholastic Aptitude Test in 2007 than ever. Though the College Board has lauded such statistics, perhaps to distract from the discouraging two-year decline in overall scores, this group of minority students is typically less prepared for the SAT. Twenty-four percent of the group declared that English is not their first language, a statistic that has grown steadily over the years. As progressively more diverse populations begin to tackle the SAT, new programs have developed to address their unique needs.
Despite improved access to the test, primarily due to an increase in fee waivers granted by the College Board, many minority students are inadequately prepared to take the SAT or do not consider how to prepare. In the graduating class of 2007, the racial gap between test scores remained significant: an average score of 1085 for White students compared to 843 for Black students.
Robert Schaeffer of FairTest, a nonprofit organization that acts as a watchdog within the standardized test industry, says the “playing field can’t be equal because of the varying degree of preparation among students.” Many colleges that do not require the SAT as part of their application process cite their decision as a counterbalance to the unfair coaching inherent in SAT preparation. Shaeffer explains, “If coaching improves students’ scores, then the test offers different things to different students, but admissions can’t know their degree of preparation.”
Most test prep classes are out of reach for many of today’s students, both geographically and financially. Kaplan’s “Premier” SAT course, for example, costs $3,899 for 32 hours of preparation.
In the wake of such disparity, several programs are determined to narrow the gulf between scores, including a new company aptly named Revolution Prep. Co-founders Jake Neuberg and Ramit Varma operate by the guiding principle that “no student is turned away” due to inability to pay or difficulty finding transportation to class, which is why most Revolution classes are held on campus after school. A former Kaplan tutor, Neuberg now works with schools in Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., improving scores by a guaranteed 200 points. Revolution also works with Advancement Via Individual Determination, an in-school academic support program attempting to “level the playing field for minority, rural, low-income, and other students without a college-going tradition.”
