The racial achievement gap has been at the center of the educational debate for decades in the United States. Although disparities in educational outcomes have declined in part of the 20th century, the process has stalled in this decade. For instance, in mathematics the gap in raw scores for students aged 13 has decline from 41 points in 1978 to…

Presents an interview with W. Willard Wirtz, chairman of the College Entrance Examination Board panel investigating the decline in Scholastic Aptitude Test scores. (IRT)

After two years of investigation, a panel appointed to advise the College Entrance Examination Board and Educational Testing Service on the recent change in Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores concluded that the 14-year score decline is a complex phenomenon, yielding neither simple explanations nor easy solutions. As a result of looking at the…

Examines influences that might explain fluctuations in Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores since 1955. Discusses the role of the following: (1) test construction; (2) race, sex, and socioeconomic status of test takers; (3) school environment; (4) family environment; and (5) social environment. (FMW)