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Executives want a lesser role for SAT

Boston - Top business executives, led by the National Urban League, will urge more than 700 colleges to de-emphasize the SAT, saying that low SAT scores often bar future leaders from top schools.

Executives from companies like Verizon and Gillette will ask college presidents to put more weight on the applicant's creativity, or replace the SAT with a test that more closely mirrors what students learn in school, The Boston Globe reported. Officials at the College Board, which oversees the SAT, say the test is one criterion among many in the admissions process. "Effectively, the Urban League is adding its voice to a chorus of educators who are saying that it's time for the SAT to go," says John Katzman of the SAT-prep company Princeton Review.

Few Americans have time to help schools

washington - In a national survey released yesterday by the Public Education Network, Americans say they want to better public schools, but only about half are involved in improving education. Almost 70 percent of those polled say they have 0 to 3 hours a week to help improve schools in their communities; two-thirds say they'd take action if it required little commitment.

(c) Copyright 2001. The Christian Science Monitor