What Does SAT Stand For

What Does SAT Stand For Over its 90 years in existence, the SATs meaning has changed in a number of meaningful ways. Perhaps you have wondered, What does SAT stand for? Originally, SAT stood for Scholastic Aptitude Test, and it was designed as an assessment that evaluated a given students college-specific skills. In 1993, the College Board renamed the SAT to stand for Scholastic Assessment Test, to better reflect the fact that it does not measure innate intelligencein fact, the name change came about to correct the impression among some people that the SAT measures something that is innate and impervious to change regardless of effort and instruction. The exam has also been known as the SAT I: Reasoning Test, the SAT Reasoning Test, and, now, simply as the SAT. Timeline of Major SAT Changes 1926 Scholastic Aptitude Test first administered 1993 Scholastic Assessment Test name change 1997 SAT name change (SAT does not stand for anything) 2005 SAT scoring changed to a 2400 scale 2016 SAT scoring changed to a 1600 scale When high school students across the country and around the world sit down to take the SAT this year, they will face an exam quite unlike the one their classmates took in the past, and this can makepreparing for SAT test daythat much more difficult. Why? For the first time in 11 years, the SAT has been revised, and the result is a new SAT that is vastly different from its famous predecessor. According to the College Board, the organization that administers the SAT, among the testsofficial changesare its challenging evidence-based reading sections and its more difficult, multi-step math problems. The origins of what theSAT stands for With so many changes, what does SAT stand for today? To learn more about the SATs present meaning, it is helpful to first delve into its past. What follows is a summary of the SATs history, described in Secrets of the SAT, a 1999 PBS publication, and in a 2003 College Board report titled, A Historical Perspective on the Content of the SAT. After the United States entered World War I in 1917, an American psychologist named Robert Yerkes developed a test that was designed to assess the intelligence of his countrys new Army recruits. Scores on the Army Alpha, as his IQ test came to be called, would help decide a soldiers ability to serve, which jobs he would take, and his potential for leadership positions. It measured the verbal ability, numerical ability, ability to follow directions, and knowledge of information, according to the U.S. Army. Carl Brigham, a Princeton University instructor, helped Yerkes develop and administer the test. Once the war ended, Brigham modified the Army Alpha to evaluate the intelligence of college freshmen at Princeton University and applicants to The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City. The College Board (which was founded in 1900) then tasked Brigham with developing a college entrance exam to screen high school students who were applying to other colleges. The result of Brighams work was the Scholastic Aptitude Test, which was administered on June 23, 1926, to more than 8,000 high school students at about 300 test centers. The 1926 SAT was very different from the current exam. It was made up of nine subtests that measured students verbal and mathematical skills with a total of 315 questions, which students were expected to speed through in 97 minutes. According to the College Board, students were not expected to complete the entire exam. To help ease students struggles with this timeframe, several subtests were removed and the time limit was increased, in 1928 and 1929. Critics of the 1926 SAT worried that the exam could harm education practices. As a response, in 1930, the SAT was divided into two sectionsone measuring students verbal abilities and the other measuring their mathematical skills. These two scores would be reported separately, letting colleges admissions departments place different weights on students scores as a reflection of their college type and curriculum. From 1930 to 1935, the Verbal portion of the SAT included only antonyms, sentence completion, and reading passages. From 1936 to 1946, it included these kinds of questions, plus analogies. Time limits varied from 80 to 115 minutes for the Verbal part of the test, based on what year the SAT was taken in. At this time, the Mathematical section was made up of 100 free-response questions, which students had to solve in 80 minutes. Questions were straightforward, and designed so that students could answer the greatest number of questions in the least amount of time. In an attempt to diversify the Harvard University student body, Harvard President James Bryant Conant began a new scholarship program in 1933 for academically gifted male high school students who did not attend East Coast boarding schools. He assigned his assistant dean, Henry Chauncey, the job of finding a suitable test to evaluate the gifted students for scholarships. Chauncey recommended the SAT, which Conant liked because he felt it was a good measure of the boys pure intelligence and did not reflect where each student attended high school. Chauncey recommended that all member schools of the College Board begin using the SAT as a standardized admissions exam for scholarship applicants. By 1942, all applicants to College Board member colleges were required to take the SAT. This test incorporated multiple-choice questions, followed by five options, into the math portion of the exam for the first time. It was the SAT in this form that Chauncey administered to more than 300,000 people across the country on the same day, under a contract from the U.S. Army and Navy. Given the success of the SAT in evaluating the intelligence of both military recruits and students, in 1948, the Educational Testing Service (or ETS) was founded to help administer the College Boards exam to high school students nationwide. It was then that the SATs purpose began to more closely represent that which it holds today: a standardized measure of high school students college readiness. The SAT expands nationally Small changes to the SAT would follow as the exam grew in popularity. By the 1950s, a significant percentage of the Verbal test focused on reading passages, each of which ranged from 120 to 500 words in length. Students were required to answer common-sense questions about the content of the passages. Time limits were tight, with students required to answer between 107 and 170 questions in 90 to 100 minutes. Gradually, the College Board increased time limits and curbed question counts. From 1958 to 1993, SAT creators made few changes to the Verbal part of the test. Yet several alterations were made to the Math portion, which incorporated a new question type that tested students abilities to evaluate whether or not the provided data was sufficient to answer each question. These were later replaced with questions that asked students to compare two mathematical quantities. This was done after studies revealed that students, especially those who had taken less complex high school math courses, could answer quantitative-comparison questions more quickly and reliably than data sufficiency questions. But in 1994, both the Verbal and Math sections underwent drastic overhauls. On the Verbal test, more emphasis was placed on critical reading and reasoning skills, reading material was made more accessible and engaging, and the length of passages was lengthenedso that text more closely resembled that which students would likely have to read in college courses. This greater emphasis on critical reading, SAT creators hoped, would help the SAT stand for positive change, influencing the educational establishment to better prepare students for college and beyond. The 1994 SAT changes helped the College Board more closely align its test content with a 1990 recommendation of the Commission on New Possibilities for the Admissions Testing Program to approximate more closely the skills used in college and high school work. Antonyms were removed from the test, based on the premise that they encouraged rote memorization instead of critical thinking. Additionally, in an effort to influence schools curriculum to include more reading, the College Board increased the percentage of passage-based reading questions from 29 percent to 50 percent. This increased the testing time limit and reduced the number of questions. For the first time on the Math subtest, test-takers were required to arrive at their own solutions to questions, rather than select from a set of answer choices. Students were also permitted to use calculators on the Math section. These changes were made to better align the mathematics portion of the SAT with high school students curriculum. A major influence in these changes was the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), as well as similar organizations, that suggested that more attention should be given to problem-solving in the realm of mathematics. Recent changes to the SAT In 2005, the Verbal Reasoning and Math portions of the SAT underwent another major redesign. This time, changes were made to ensure the SAT would better align with mainstream American high school curriculum, and to highlight the importance of college readiness. A new Writing section with multiple-choice questions and an essay was added. Analogies were removed from the Verbal Reasoning portion (now referred to as Critical Reading), and more passage-based questions were added. The Math section incorporated content from more advanced high school math courses, such as second-year algebra, while quantitative comparisons were eliminated. The latest iteration of the SAT again works to more closely align the exam with what high school students are currently learning, and with what they can expect to learn in college. [RELATED: 4 Most Challenging Questions on the New SAT] Despite the College Boards efforts to design a more equitable test that is better suited to todays high school students, critics say the new exams emphasis on words may make it more challenging for students with less reading experience or those who speak a different language at home. In addition, some students are worried that the new changes may affect what an average SAT score is, and thus, college admissions chances. This, The New York Times has reported, has left a number of students considering whether they should try their hand at the new SAT or sit for the more familiar ACT. The College Board, however, asserts that the new changes will not drastically alter students outcomes. We are very mindful of the verbal load on this test, Cyndie Schmeiser, the Chief of Assessment at the College Board, told The New York Times. We are keeping it down. I think kids are going to find it comfortable and familiar. Everything about the test is publicly available. There are no mysteries. In all, somemajor changes are coming to the March 2016 SAT. The redesigned SAT will feature: more practical math questions (though they are not necessarily easier) a no-calculator math section a long reading section more applicable vocabulary a shorter overall test an optional essay [RELATED: 4 Tricks to Learn Vocab for the New SAT] Furthermore, students will no longer be penalized for wrong answers, meaning that, unlike previous versions of the SAT, guessing incorrectly will not result in a points deduction. This may lead students to ask themselves, How is the new SAT scored? The new SAT will be scored on a scale of 1600, the same scale on which the exam was scored until 2005, when the scoring changed to a scale of 2400. A shift in the testing landscape Most colleges and universities allow students to choose between the ACT or the SAT (or to sit for both). Geographically, students in the Midwest tend to opt for the ACT, while students on the East and West coasts prefer the SAT. Despite this distribution, more students ultimately take the ACT. [RELATED: What is an Average ACT Score?] After surpassing the SAT in popularity in 2012, the ACT continues to dominate as the standardized college entrance exam of choice in the United States. This is partly because the ACT was quick to align its content with the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSS). The Common Core State Standards, or CCSS, were released in 2010. They are designed to prepare high school students for college or employment after graduation, and they are focused on comprehension, critical thinking, and research, rather than rote memorization. To date, 42 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the CCSS. The ACTs emphasis on the CCSS, and its connection to classroom curriculum, can make the ACT seem like a natural choice for many students. This years changes to the SAT presumably partially reflect the SATs desire to regain its position as the dominant college entrance exam. The changes also reflect other developments now occurring in the high school testing landscapewith most states implementing the CCSS, some individuals have discussed the possibility of replacing students final exams with a test already taken by many people, such as the ACT or SAT. [RELATED: 3 Skills Tested on the New 2016 SAT] As of January 2016, the U.S. Department of Education has given seven states permission to use either the ACT or the SAT as an official high school assessment. This approval is part of a provision in the Every Student Succeeds Act. But states must conduct studies on the efficacy of the ACT and SAT as general high school assessment exams in order to use them, according to Education Week. Four states won approval to use the SATColorado, Connecticut, Maine, and New Hampshireand three states have approval to use the ACTArkansas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The ACT is now discussing its exam with 10 other states that are interested in using it as a federal high school assessment. For the College Board, such a change in high school testing policies could conceivably augment its exam numbers. But just as states are becoming more enthusiastic about the ACT and SAT, higher education appears to be doing the opposite: since 2004, more than 140 U.S. colleges have declared themselves test-optional. This list of 140+ institutions includes schools like Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut; Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; George Washington University in Washington, D.C.; and, most recently, the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware. In total, there are more than 850 colleges across America that have deemphasized the importance of standardized college entrance exams when making admissions decisions. One school, Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, even refuses to consider submitted test scores. Of course, just because certain colleges are placing less importance on standardized college entrance exams does not mean that few students are taking the ACT or SAT. Millions of high school students continue to register for these tests each year. This is likely due to the fact that some colleges still require at least one of these exams as part of a college application. [RELATED: Trends in College Admissions] It may also be the result of increased admissions competition, especially at the countrys most selective schools. Because nearly all test-optional colleges still accept exam scores, many students take the ACT and/or the SAT in an attempt to improve their admissions chances. So, what does SAT stand for? Ultimately, what does SAT stand for? Today, the College Boards goal is to gauge high school students understanding of their curriculum and their readiness for college. Still, some studies have highlighted the belief that high school grades may be better predictors of college success than ACT or SAT scores. No test can truly measure aptitude for academic success because school performance is not based on a single factor, Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director of the National Center for Fair Open Testing (FairTest), told The Washington Post. Math and verbal skillsthe qualities measured by tests such as the SAT, GMAT and LSATare just one component. Non-cognitive traits, such as creativity, motivation and grit, also play significant roles. High school grades are a more accurate predictor of college outcomes than any test because grades better capture the many characteristics that improve the chances of graduation. [RELATED: How to Motivate a High School Student] Indeed, this 2014 study found almost no difference in the cumulative GPA and graduation rates between students who submitted standardized test scores to colleges and those who did not. Despite such criticism and research, despite pressing competition from the ACT, and despite the fact that some colleges no longer require students to take standardized entrance exams, it seems that the SAT is here to stay. Those students who are planning to take the revised 2016 test (and all exams thereafter) should familiarize themselves with the new format and work through SAT practice tests, available on both the College Boards website and in the free Varsity Tutors SAT Prep Book. Any topics you want to know more about? Let us know! The Varsity Tutors Blog editors love hearing your feedback and opinions. Feel free to email us atblog@varsitytutors.com.

What is a Vertical Line

What is a Vertical Line In a coordinate X-Y plane, there are two main axes which are always fixed. They are the X-axis and the Y-axis. The X-axis is the horizontal line and the Y-axis is the vertical line. In the coordinate plane, any axis parallel to the Y-axis is also known as the vertical line. Given any point on the plane, a vertical line can be drawn passing through the given point. Based on the point, the equation of the vertical line can be calculated. Example 1: On which line are the points (0, 3) and (0, 5) located? Given two points: (0, 3) and (0, 5) Hence for the point (0, 3), the x-coordinate = 0 and y-coordinate = 3. Similarly, for the point (0, 5), the x-coordinate = 0 and the y-coordinate = 5. We can see that both the points have the x coordinate as 0 which means that the points are on the Y-axis as only on Y-axis, all the x-coordinates of the points are 0. Example 2: On which line are the points (0, -1) and (0, -6) located? Given two points: (0, -1) and (0, -6) Hence for the point (0, -1), the x-coordinate = 0 and y-coordinate = -1 Similarly, for the point (0, -6), the x-coordinate = 0 and the y-coordinate = -6. We can see that both the points have the x coordinate as 0 and hence the points are located on the Y-axis. This Y-axis is the vertical line continuing up and down until positive infinity and negative infinity.

11 Ways to Practice Guitar While You Watch Shark Week

11 Ways to Practice Guitar While You Watch Shark Week Sign up successful When I first started learning to play guitar, I stared too much at my hands which really slowed down my ability to read tabs or chord charts while I played. Playing with the TV on pulled my eyes away from my hands and forced me to learn to rely on my muscle memory to form chords, scales, and riffs. I also used to get bored easily while practicing technical exercises such as scales and arpeggios. With the TV on in the background and my metronome clicking happily away, I can  run through technical exercises for  a whole episode of Shark Planet. Finally, watching TV distracts the nervous, busy parts of my brain that are mainly responsible for criticizing me constantly and wondering if I left the oven on. With my focus split and my busy-brain occupied, I can improvise in a freer, less-inhibited way. I find I feel less self-conscious and much more relaxed. Plus, its great to just spend more time with a guitar in my hands. If Im sitting around at home anyway, I might as well be playing! How to Practice Guitar While Watching TV For best results, I play an unplugged electric or hollow body electric guitar while watching TV. Its a little less annoying to the other members of my household, but I can still hear myself well enough to get the job done. When Im alone, I bust out my metronome for TV practice sessions as well. 11  Things You Can Practice While You Watch TV Ready to give it a shot? Ive selected  11 shark-approved  things you can practice while you enjoy Shark Week, your next Netflix binge, or a week long Harry Potter movie marathon. 1. Play Chromatic Scales Chromatic scales involve all the fingers of your left hand and theyre a great way to refine your right hand skills with your pick. Just like any other exercise, start with your metronome on a slow speed and work up to a faster tempo. 2. Play Pentatonic Scales Pentatonic scales are at the root of many of your favorite rock, pop, and blues songs. Plus, they are a great tool to have at your disposal when it comes time to improvise a solo. Practice them in many positions on the neck to get the pentatonic patterns locked in your muscle memory. 3. Play Major Scales Practicing major scales is a must for all musicians, no matter what instrument you play. There are five patterns you can learn  to play major scales all over the fretboard. 4. Play Minor Scales Minor scales give you a  sadder,  moodier sound. The melancholy vibe of these scales will help you express your grief  when Shark Week is over. 5. Play Scales in Different Modes Each scale can be played in a different order, known as a mode, for even more variety in sound and feeling. This guide from Guitar Habits can help you learn all seven modes in seven days. 6. Practice Chord Changes Keep your eyes on the TV as you practice switching from one chord to another. You can work through the chord changes in your favorite songs, or make up chord drills to give yourself a little extra challenge. 7. Play Arpeggios Arpeggio is a fancy word for broken chord, and theyre extremely versatile piece of  your guitar-skills arsenal.  Arpeggios are great for picking an accompaniment to a singer or for improvising solos. 8. Practice Fingerpicking It can take a lot of time to master the coordination that fingerpicking requires, so why not practice this technique while youre vegging out in front of the TV? 9. Practice Something That Challenges You Sometimes when youre playing something hard, the biggest obstacle to mastering it could actually  be your own mind. Get a little bit distracted with some TV while you play through challenging pieces (or parts of pieces) and you might break through your mental block. 10. Practice Something Easy Unwind by playing through your favorite, easy, fun pieces. After all, the best thing about playing guitar is the pleasure you get from making music. Enjoy yourself! 11. Get Creative You might like to improvise along with your TV, perhaps playing along to music in the show youre watching, or writing riffs inspired by what you see on the screen. Find what you enjoy and what makes sense for you to play. Remember, though playing in front of the TV can be fun and relaxing, its no substitute for focused and dedicated practice time. Your guitar teacher can help you make a plan for great guitar practice that helps you meet your musical goals. Practice every week like its Shark Week! Do you like to play guitar while you watch TV? Why or why not? Share your thoughts in the comments below! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher

Online Writing Lab English Writing Online Tutorpace

Online Writing Lab English Writing Online Tutorpace Online writing lab is useful for the students to finish their writing assignment or learn more about English writing. The online writing labs usually have many articles on different subjects and research on different topics. Articles based on some known facts as well as some collected and well researched data. The students are recommended to go through as many articles possible before submitting their writing assignments. The online writing lab helps improve the students knowledge as well as gives relevant ideas to improve their writing. Writing is a very basic and crucial part of English. Reading different literature content provides the student with a lot of insight and depth which helps them in their coursework. Reading more articles and researching on the given writing topic improves the standards of the assignment. There are different kinds of writing in English. Each kind has its own set of rules and regulations which need to be followed. The guidelines which are provided for the writing need to be taken seriously and thoroughly understood before writing the assignment. Its suggested that a rough draft is written prior to the final writing. Research for the given topic is the key in providing an impressive writing. The students always need to recite their sources used in their writing. There are hundreds of useful articles online which not only provide the content but also provide required explanation making it easy for the students to understand. Therefor online writing labs are one of the easily available tools for students to enhance their writing skills.

Whats the difference The simple, compound, and complex sentence!

Whats the difference The simple, compound, and complex sentence! Learn the difference between simple, compound and complex sentences with anticipations, interruptions, and afterthoughts. In just 17 minutes, you will know how to punctuate and structure every sentence you will ever want to write.   This article can also help you understand how to avoid common errors like fragment, run-on, and comma splice errors because understanding sentence structure is key to understanding punctuation, also. Writing concise sentences by being mindful of sentence structure will also help you avoid wordiness. Watch the Video Learn the difference between a simple sentence, a compound sentence, and a complex sentence in 17 minutes by watching this video. You will never need another explanation. Simple, Compound, and Complex Sentences There are three basic sentences types. They get their names from their structures. The structures can be either simple, joined as equals, or joined with a subordinate. Ill explain. What is a simple sentence? A simple sentence has a subject and a verb and sometimes an object or complement. The subject is who or what the sentence is about. The verb and the object or complement together are often called the predicate. A simple sentence has two parts: its subject and its predicate. She smiled. (subject + verb)She looked pretty. (subject + verb + complement)Simple sentence What is a compound sentence? A compound sentence has two or more simple sentences joined together, usually with a comma and a coordinating conjunction. She smiled, and she laughed. (Two sentences joined with a comma + coordinator.)Compound sentence. What is a complex sentence? A complex sentence is a simple sentence with subordinate clause joined to it. A subordinate clause depends on another clause to complete an idea, so we call subordinate clauses dependent clauses. She smiles when she is happy. (Independent clause + dependent clause)Complex sentence Error Correction Exercise:Learn how to correct comma errors Please follow and like us:

GCSE Exam Schedule and Key Dates for 2019

GCSE Exam Schedule and Key Dates for 2019 With the upcoming GCSE exam season fast approaching in the UK, it can   be difficult and feel time-consuming trying to locate key exam dates  in the May- June period. To help you through, we've gathered together some of the key dates for the 2019 GCSE exam season.   The majority of exam board timetables begin on Monday 13 May and finish between Wednesday 19 and Friday 21 June. GCSE results will be published on  Thursday 22  August 2019.   Please note: This is a guide to exam dates which could  be subject to change and have been set provisionally by the Awarding Body. Exam centres will provide definite confirmation of dates for students depending on their exam board using the specification code. Edexcel-  Monday 13 May â€" Wednesday 19 June OCR- Monday 13 May â€" Friday 21 June AQA-  Monday 13 May â€" Wednesday 19 June Resits for GCSE exams will be in November 2019 or in June 2020. Are you feeling stressed by the amount of revision or exams you have? Visit our recent blog for tips on mindfulness and simple breathing techniques to help you cope with exam stress.   If you need a tutor for the upcoming exam season, you can choose from 1000s of tutors on  Tutorfair  by clicking  here.   Have you seen our  resource centre? You can find plenty of past papers, subject syllabi and other educational resources! Here are our top picks for Revision: How to structure an Essay? KS3 Writing Test ISEB Common Entrance Past Papers AQA GCSE Past Exam Questions - To Kill a Mocking Bird

VIPKID

VIPKID VIPKID Who We Are VIPKid connects children in China with the worlds best teachers for real-time one-to-one online English immersion learning. Simply said, we allow teachers to change kids lives without uprooting their own. A global education company, our mission is to inspire and empower every child for the future. Founded in 2013 and formally launched in 2014 afer a year of pilotng and curriculum development, we have become Chinas market-leading educaton startup, with offices in both China and the US. What Inspires Us Our founders worked as both educators and administrators for decades prior to founding VIPKid. Weve taken those experiences as well as our passion for motvating and engaging young learners - with us to our work at VIPKid. We aim to provide a truly global educaton and with teachers and students all over the world, were able to deliver exactly that. Our technology enables personalized learning and a connection between teachers and students across the world. Our Philosophy (and Philanthropy) One of our core beliefs is that every teacher, student and employee who works with VIPKid has a need to learn (and keep learning). And since theres no one-size-fits-all for education, were constantly exploring ways to spark curiosity and create more opportunites to grow. As such we base our curriculum on a progressive pedagogy but we also put our ideals into action. In additon to our 300,000 paying students we support 300 low-income rural schools in China through our Rural Education Prooect. This program provides free English classes to students, helping improve even more lives.