It stands for Scholastic Aptitude Test, a multiple-choice general examination that often sets the path for your future. It has been a rite of passage for generations. The university's president, Richard Atkinson has recommended that the basic aptitude test, known as SAT I, be dropped from the entrance requirements, arguing that they put black and Hispanic students at a disadvantage. His announcement, delivered at the American Council on Education, has been a front-page bombshell around the country. It is hard to exaggerate the centrality of the SAT to middle-class American life.
Nervous parents pour money into extra-curricular coaching.
Mr Atkinson's proposals have yet to be considered by the university's governing board, but the fact that such a giant figure on the educational stage should question this shibboleth is significant enough. His remarks also have political ramifications, at a time when a newly-elected president is extolling the virtues of standardised testing and calling for more of it. It also dips into US racial politics. The SAT tests are a major factor here, as blacks on average score 198 points left than whites. For similar reasons, about 300 small private colleges have abandoned SAT I as an indicator of aptitude.