From: akcs.joehorn@hpcvbbs.cv.hp.com (Joseph K. Horn)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp48
Subject: New SAT allows HP48!
Date: 19 Jan 93 04:40:02 GMT


               +--------------------------------------+
               | New PSAT and SAT Calculator Policies |
               |         by The College Board         |
               +--------------------------------------+

[Many students have posted their worries about not being allowed to
 use their HP 48 during exams.  I encourage them to show the following
 College Board document to any teachers or professors who need to see
 it.  The new PSAT and SAT allow the *full* use of the HP 48!  -jkh-]

                          THE NEW PSAT & SAT

The PSAT/NMSQT (Pre-SAT and National Merit Scholarship Qualifying
Test) and SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) will undergo a change in
format.  The new PSAT will be given on Tuesday, October 12, 1993, and
Saturday, October 16, 1993.  The new SAT will begin in March 1994.

The changes will make the tests consistent with the direction of
mathematics education in the 1990s.  This new policy will enable
students to use the calculators they are accustomed to using in their
classroom instruction on the test.

                              NEW POLICY

Students may use a calculator on the math sections of the new PSAT and
SAT.  In fact, the College Board recommends that each student have a
calculator available during the test and determine when, and if, to
use it in solving a problem.  Students may use any four-function,
scientific, or graphing calculator with which they are familiar.  They
will not be permitted to use "hand-held" minicomputers, pocket
organizers, laptop computers, or calculators with paper tape or
printers.  Students are not advised to buy a sophisticated or new
calculator just to take the new PSAT or SAT.

                             FIELD TRIALS

Field trials gave no evidence that the type of calculator used
(four-function, scientific, or graphing) had a significant effect on
performance.  There was also no evidence that their use enabled
students to finish more quickly, or that their use slowed students
down.  There are no questions that *require* the use of a calculator.

                               SUPPORT

The new policies that govern the use of calculators on the SAT are
supported by the recommendations and standards of the:

- National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
- National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics
- Mathematical Sciences Education Board
- Mathematical Association of America
- American Mathematical Society

Teachers and the mathematics community are enthusiastic about the new
policy.  Several formal surveys, reactions from professional
organizations, and anecdotal comments from individual teachers have
all been supportive.  All have emphasized the relevance of the policy
to classroom instruction.

                          "UNFAIR ADVANTAGE"

The new policy has sometimes been criticized as unfair, since it will
result in different students taking the tests with different
calculators with varying levels of functionality.  It is sometimes
suggested that the College Board make it fair by providing one model
of calculator to all test takers at the time of testing so that
everyone has access to the same tyechnology.  On the surface this may
appear to be the most equitable policy for all students, but on closer
examination it turns out to be decidedly unfair.  Mathematics
educators have advised us that to provide an unfamiliar calculator to
a student on the day of the test would only serve the potential for
the student to make errors, and shift the emphasis away from the
original concept, namely that a student should use the tool with which
he or she is best acquainted through classroom instruction.

                            PROGRAMMABLES

The test itself does not demand that students memorize complicated
mathematical formulas, so programming such formulas into a calculator
or having a calculator with those functions built in will provide no
advantage.  More importantly, all test questions can be answered
without a calculator, and important mathematical formulas are provided
right in the test booklet.

Students with programmable calculators who store actual test questions
in order to carry them away would be violating test security.
Procedures are being developed to prevent students from removing test
questions or answers.  For example, one  possibility is to develop
instructions to students and test center supervisors regarding the
procedures for clearing calculator memories.  When finalized, any
required procedures will be described in all test familiarization
materials.

                           FURTHER DETAILS

For further details, please contact:

    The College Board
    45 Columbus Avenue
    New York, New York 10023-6992
    Telephone: (212) 713-8000

"This publication is Copyright (c) 1992 by College Entrance
Examination Board.  All rights reserved.  College Board and SAT are
registered trademarks of the College Entrance Examination Board.
Permission is hereby granted to any nonprofit school to reproduce this
publication in whole or part in limited quantities for distribution to
its students and staff, but not for sale, provided that the copyright
notice of the College Entrance Examination Board appears on all
reproduced materials."