EDUCATION REPORT - Foreign Student Series 8 - College Entran

EDUCATION REPORT - Foreign Student Series #8 - College Entrance Tests
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Thursday, October 21, 2004

This is Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Education Report.

Colleges and universities in the United States generally consider three things when they decide which students to accept. They consider the grades that a student has earned in school. Experts say marks are the most important thing.

But officials also consider the difficulty of the classes that the student took. And they consider the scores that the student received on college entrance tests.

Today, in part eight of our Foreign Student Series, we discuss the two tests known as the S.A.T. and the A.C.T.

The S.A.T. measures reasoning skills in mathematics and language. This includes how well a student reads and understands what is read. Students may also need to take S.A.T. subject tests in areas like history, science and foreign language.

After January, the S.A.T. will cost forty-one dollars and fifty cents, a twelve dollar increase. The international processing charge is an additional¹ twenty dollars.

Next March, there will be changes in the S.A.T. For example, students will have to write an essay. But they will no longer be tested on word analogies². The test is now three hours long. The changes will add forty-five minutes.

You can get more information about the S.A.T. at the College Board Web site, collegeboard dot com.

The A.C.T. has tests in English, mathematics, reading and science. It takes about three hours and thirty minutes to complete. Starting in February, students can also take a writing test. The A.C.T. costs forty-five dollars to take outside the United States. The Web site for more information is actstuden.org.

Some schools may suggest that foreign students also take the Test of Spoken English or the Test of Written English. But most American schools require the TOEFL, the Test of English as a Foreign Language. That is our subject next week.

Internet users³ can find the reports in our Foreign Student Series at www.tingroom.com. The State Department has information for international students at educationusa.state.gov.

Now here is a quick test. Do you know what A.C.T. and S.A.T. mean? A.C.T. stands for American College Test. S.A.T. used to stand for Scholastic⁴ Aptitude⁵ Test. Then it became Scholastic Assessment⁶ Test. Now, the College Board, which owns the test, says S.A.T. does not stand for anything.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach. This is Gwen Outen.

1 additional   

adj.添加的，额外的，另外的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to set down these additional rules.有必要制定这些补充规则。
• I think we can fit in an additional room.我想我们可以再加建一间房子。

2 analogies   

类似( analogy的名词复数 )； 相似； 类推； 类推法

参考例句：

• His efforts involved thought experiments and analogies, rather than detailed experimentation. 他所进行的是思维实验及类推，而不是细致的实验。
• Historical analogies,as between Napoleon and Hitler,ought not to be carried too far. 历史的类比，如拿破仑与希特勒之间的类比，不应做过头。

3 users   

用户，使用者( user的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new software will prove a boon to Internet users. 这种新软件将会对互联网用户大有益处。
• Ramps should be provided for wheelchair users. 应该给轮椅使用者提供坡道。

4 scholastic   

adj.学校的，学院的，学术上的

参考例句：

• There was a careful avoidance of the sensitive topic in the scholastic circles.学术界小心地避开那个敏感的话题。
• This would do harm to students' scholastic performance in the long run.这将对学生未来的学习成绩有害。

5 aptitude   

n.(学习方面的)才能，资质，天资

参考例句：

• That student has an aptitude for mathematics.那个学生有数学方面的天赋。
• As a child,he showed an aptitude for the piano.在孩提时代，他显露出对于钢琴的天赋。

6 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？