????美國(guó)大學(xué)理事會(huì)(College Board)上周三對(duì)外宣布，SAT考試（學(xué)術(shù)能力評(píng)估測(cè)試）即將迎來(lái)一些重大變革,。理事會(huì)總裁大衛(wèi)?科爾曼說(shuō),，這些變化是為了讓考試內(nèi)容更加契合學(xué)生們?cè)诟咧袑W(xué)習(xí)的知識(shí)，消除考題的欺騙性,，讓昂貴的備考服務(wù)變得不那么重要,。

????從2016年開(kāi)始，SAT考試將重新實(shí)行1600分制,，寫(xiě)作部分將成為選考科目,。它也將取消答錯(cuò)題倒扣分制，因?yàn)榈箍鄯謹(jǐn)?shù)其實(shí)是懲罰學(xué)生猜測(cè)答案的行為,。此外,，美國(guó)大學(xué)理事會(huì)還將與可汗學(xué)院(Khan Academy)聯(lián)手推出免費(fèi)的SAT在線培訓(xùn)課程，稱(chēng)這樣做將有助于創(chuàng)造公平的備考環(huán)境,。

????科爾曼周三說(shuō)：“如果我們認(rèn)為評(píng)估必須成為一股追求公平和卓越的力量,，那么現(xiàn)在是時(shí)候做出一些改變了?！?/p>

????這些措施當(dāng)然很好,，但請(qǐng)不要搞錯(cuò)，變革SAT考試的決定其實(shí)是一個(gè)經(jīng)過(guò)深思熟慮的商業(yè)行為,。SAT考試的受歡迎程度已經(jīng)落后于它的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手ACT（美國(guó)大學(xué)入學(xué)考試）,，采用新題型正是為了卷土重來(lái)，奪回昔日的主導(dǎo)地位,。

????很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間以來(lái),，SAT考試一直是衡量高中生是否適合升入大學(xué)的首選方式。SAT考試首先被普林斯頓大學(xué)(Princeton University)采用,，隨即迅速風(fēng)靡東海岸,，這就自動(dòng)地把它與精英教育聯(lián)系在一起。1957年,，SAT考試的應(yīng)試者首次突破100萬(wàn)人次大關(guān),，受歡迎程度在20世紀(jì)剩下的時(shí)間里持續(xù)攀升,。2000年，有1,260,278名學(xué)生參加了這項(xiàng)考試,。

????SAT誕生后不久,，ACT就成為它的一個(gè)強(qiáng)硬對(duì)手。愛(ài)荷華州立大學(xué)( Iowa State)一位教授于1959年創(chuàng)建ACT考試,，用以評(píng)估學(xué)生的實(shí)踐性知識(shí),。盡管ACT一直是SAT不敢忽視的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手，但它缺乏SAT考試的顯赫聲譽(yù),。而且在相當(dāng)長(zhǎng)時(shí)間里,，ACT的市場(chǎng)主要局限在中西部。2000年,，有100萬(wàn)多一點(diǎn)的學(xué)生參加了ACT考試,。

????但2000年以后，ACT 開(kāi)始呈現(xiàn)出反超SAT的勢(shì)頭,。其中一個(gè)主要推動(dòng)因素就是州政府的參與,。

????為了履行讓學(xué)生做好上大學(xué)準(zhǔn)備的承諾，同時(shí)達(dá)到2001年通過(guò)的《不讓一個(gè)孩子掉隊(duì)》法案(No Child Left Behind)的要求——這項(xiàng)法案要求高中在中學(xué)教育階段至少測(cè)試一次學(xué)生的閱讀能力,、數(shù)學(xué)能力和科學(xué)素養(yǎng)——許多州開(kāi)始把ACT作為標(biāo)準(zhǔn)考核測(cè)試,。就在此前幾年，ACT推出了上大學(xué)準(zhǔn)備標(biāo)準(zhǔn),，將考試成績(jī)同實(shí)際應(yīng)用能力掛鉤,。在此之前，一位學(xué)生的分?jǐn)?shù)只有跟其他學(xué)生比較時(shí)才有意義,?！霸S多州認(rèn)為我們能夠?yàn)槿萁y(tǒng)考提供一種更好的解決方案，”ACT發(fā)言人埃德?科爾比說(shuō),?！八麄兿Ｍ业揭环N能夠評(píng)估本州課程和學(xué)習(xí)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)、同時(shí)還可以激勵(lì)學(xué)生努力學(xué)習(xí)的方式,，他們知道ACT是一項(xiàng)根據(jù)課程設(shè)計(jì)的考試,。”

????2001年,，科羅拉多州和伊利諾伊州與ACT簽約,，開(kāi)始在全州范圍內(nèi)組織管理這項(xiàng)考試,。密歇根州和肯塔基州于2007年開(kāi)始推行這項(xiàng)考試,；2009年，懷俄明州也開(kāi)始了同樣的行動(dòng)?，F(xiàn)在,，全美有13個(gè)州面向公立高中學(xué)生組織管理ACT考試,。密蘇里州，威斯康星州和另一個(gè)州（它還沒(méi)有公開(kāi)承諾）預(yù)期將在來(lái)年加入這一陣營(yíng),。相比之下,，目前僅有3個(gè)州在組織管理SAT考試，分別是緬因州,、特拉華州和愛(ài)達(dá)荷州,。

????由州政府組織管理ACT考試對(duì)所有相關(guān)方都有利。這些州的學(xué)生都將自動(dòng)免費(fèi)報(bào)名,，而且可以用他們的成績(jī)申請(qǐng)大學(xué),。（ACT考試通常花費(fèi)36.50美元,，如果選考作文,，費(fèi)用將增至52.50美元，目前參加SAT考試需要支付52美元,。）應(yīng)考者中也包括一些自己并沒(méi)有報(bào)名的學(xué)生,。

????“它提升了學(xué)生對(duì)大學(xué)的了解程度，”ACT考試客戶(hù)互動(dòng)事務(wù)副總裁保羅?維克利說(shuō),。

????相比于一般的全州統(tǒng)考,，學(xué)生們更加重視ACT考試，力爭(zhēng)取得好成績(jī),，因?yàn)榭荚嚦煽?jī)直接關(guān)系到他們能否進(jìn)入理想的大學(xué),。這一點(diǎn)當(dāng)然使得ACT考試更有意義，同時(shí)給它帶來(lái)了更大的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)優(yōu)勢(shì),。畢竟,，如果你的孩子可以自動(dòng)報(bào)考免費(fèi)的ACT考試，做父母的為什么要掏錢(qián)讓他參加SAT考試,，特別是大多數(shù)大學(xué)同時(shí)認(rèn)可這兩項(xiàng)考試的時(shí)候,？

????最終的結(jié)果是，現(xiàn)在參加ACT考試的學(xué)生比以往任何時(shí)候都多,。根據(jù)美國(guó)公平與公開(kāi)考試中心(The National Center for Fair and Open Testing)提供的數(shù)據(jù),，2012年，有1,666,017名學(xué)生參加了這項(xiàng)考試,，普及程度一舉超越了SAT,，后者的參考人數(shù)為1,664,479。去年,，ACT的應(yīng)考者達(dá)到1,799,243人（這項(xiàng)統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)字首次包括了有特殊住宿需要的學(xué)生）,，而參加SAT的學(xué)生數(shù)量卻下降了4,000人。

????SAT考試試圖通過(guò)改變題型奪回市場(chǎng)份額,?！叭绻阆肓私庑掳鍿AT考試,，你只需看一看ACT就知道了。沒(méi)有猜錯(cuò)答案的罰分,，也沒(méi)有深?yuàn)W的單詞,，作文將成為選考項(xiàng)目，”公平與公開(kāi)考試中心公共教育主管鮑勃?謝弗說(shuō),?！癝AT已經(jīng)失去了頭把交椅，它已經(jīng)被更具市場(chǎng)號(hào)召力,、考試服務(wù)更友好,、營(yíng)銷(xiāo)策略更有效的ACT考試甩在了后面?！?/p>

????大學(xué)理事會(huì)和ACT考試公司(ACT, Inc.)都是非營(yíng)利性組織,，但這場(chǎng)考試之爭(zhēng)事關(guān)大量的金錢(qián)。大學(xué)理事會(huì)遞交的最近一份報(bào)稅表(即990表格）顯示,，這個(gè)機(jī)構(gòu)在2012年的總收入為7.59億美元,。根據(jù)ACT考試公司的報(bào)稅表，這家公司同一年的營(yíng)收總額為3.025億美元,。

????哥倫比亞大學(xué)新聞學(xué)院(Columbia School of Journalism)教授,、《大測(cè)試：美國(guó)英才教育秘史》( The Big Test: The Secret History of the American Meritocracy)一書(shū)作者尼古拉斯?萊曼指出，在成立初期,，SAT考試的主要目的在于衡量年輕人的天資,。“但隨著SAT考試的成功,，大學(xué)理事會(huì)的體量變得碩大無(wú)比,。這個(gè)時(shí)候，這家機(jī)構(gòu)就必須思考它需要增加多少客戶(hù)才能實(shí)現(xiàn)自己崇高的非營(yíng)利性使命這個(gè)問(wèn)題,?！保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：葉寒

????When the College Board announced on Wednesday that it was overhauling the SAT, president David Coleman said the changes were aimed at aligning the exam with what students were learning in high school, eliminating the test's trickery, and deemphasizing the importance of expensive test-prep services.

????As of 2016, the SAT will revert to a 1600-point scale by making the essay portion optional. It will also stop detracting points for wrong answers, which had, in essence, penalized students for guessing. The College Board is also teaming up with Khan Academy to create free online test-prep courses it says will help even the test-prep playing field.

????"If we believe that assessment must be a force for equity and excellence, it's time to shake things up," Coleman said on Wednesday.

????That's all well and good, but make no mistake, the decision to alter the SAT is a calculated business move. The SAT has fallen behind its rival, the ACT, in popularity, and its new format is an attempt to claw its way back to dominance.

????The SAT, or Scholastic Aptitude Test, had long been the preferred method of measuring high school students' college readiness. Its inception at Princeton University and its initial popularity on the East Coast automatically associated it with elite education. It first hit the 1 million test-takers mark in 1957, and its popularity continued to grow during the rest of the 20th century. In 2000, 1,260,278 students sat for the exam.

????Soon after its birth, the SAT found a fierce opponent in the ACT, which stands for American College Testing. The ACT was created by an Iowa State professor in 1959 to assess students' practical knowledge. While the ACT has always been a legitimate competitor to the SAT, it lacked the SAT's prestigious reputation, and, for a time, its popularity was limited mostly to the Midwest. Just over 1 million students took the ACT in 2000.

????But after 2000, the ACT began to gain ground over the SAT. One major factor gave it that boost: the statewide administration of the ACT.

????To fulfill commitments to college readiness and to meet the requirements of the 2001 No Child Left Behind act, which requires high schools to test students in math, reading, and science at least once during their secondary education, states adopted the ACT as an achievement exam. Just a few years prior, the ACT had introduced college readiness standards, which tied students' scores to actual skills. Before that, a student's score only meant something when compared to a peer's results. "States came to us looking for a better solution to statewide exams," says Ed Colby, spokesman for the ACT. "They were looking for a way to assess their state curriculum and learning standards and motivate students to do their best, and they knew that the ACT was curriculum-based."

????Colorado and Illinois signed on to administer the test statewide in 2001. Michigan and Kentucky committed to it in 2007, and Wyoming had done so by 2009. Now, 13 states administer the ACT to public high school students, with Missouri, Wisconsin, and one additional state (whose commitment is not yet public) expected to do so next year. The SAT, meanwhile, is administered by three states -- Maine, Delaware, and Idaho.

????The statewide administration of the ACT is a win across the board for all parties involved. Students in those states are automatically signed up for the test for free and can use their results on college applications. (The ACT normally costs $36.50; the ACT with optional essay is $52.50. It currently costs $52 to sit for the SAT.) Included in the pool of test-takers are students who might not have enrolled on their own.

????"It raises college awareness," says Paul Weekly, the ACT's vice president of customer engagement.

????Students are more motivated to do well on the ACT as compared to a general statewide exam since admission to the college of their choice is at stake. And, of course, it gives the ACT more relevance and a leg up on its competition. After all, if your child is signed up to take the ACT for free by default, why would you as a parent pay for the SAT when most universities accept either score?

????The end result is that more students than ever are taking the ACT. It surpassed the SAT in popularity in 2012 when 1,666,017 students sat for the exam, compared to the 1,664,479 who took the SAT, according to data collected by The National Center for Fair and Open Testing. Last year the number of ACT test-takers reached 1,799,243 -- a figure that included for the first time students who needed special accommodations -- while the number of students who took the SAT actually dropped by about 4,000.

????By changing its format, the SAT is trying to regain market share. "If you want to see the new SAT, take a look at the ACT -- there's no guessing penalty or esoteric words and the essay is optional," says Bob Schaeffer, the director of public education at Fair and Open Testing. "The SAT has fallen from first place. It's been overtaken by the ACT that has more market appeal, is more consumer friendly, and has sharper salesmanship."

????Both the College Board and ACT, Inc. are non-profit organizations, but there's plenty of money at stake in this battle of the tests. The College Board reported total revenue of $759 million in 2012 when it filed its most recent 990 form. ACT Inc. brought in $302.5 million that same year, according to its 990 form.

????During its early days, the SAT was intended to measure young people's aptitude, says Nicholas Lemann, a professor at the Columbia School of Journalism and author of The Big Test: The Secret History of the American Meritocracy. "But as soon as the College Board got super-sized because of the success of the SAT, it had to think about how many customers it had in addition to its lofty nonprofit mission."