U.S.College Exam Cancels Controversial Change

In the United States, the College Board has announced that it would cancel its plan to give an "adversity score" to students taking the SAT exam.

The organization, which produces the exam, faced strong criticism after introducing a trial version of the score in May.

The SAT is the standardized exam taken when applying to American universities.

However, the SAT has long been criticized for being biased against test takers from poor economic backgrounds, as well as giving an advantage to those from a wealthier environment.

The College Board then introduced the "adversity score" on a trial basis earlier this year.

Its purpose was to evaluate the economic and social situation of the students and provide this information to the universities.

Theoretically, this would allow universities to rank the exam scores of different students more fairly.

The score combined information like the amount of crime in a student's neighborhood, the average educational achievement in their school, and even their parents' income.

Students were assigned a number between 1 and 100, with a score above 50 meaning that a student faced hardships.

Since it first appeared, however, the "adversity score" caused controversy among parents and students.

Many argued that the score was an attack on students from wealthier backgrounds.

As a consequence, the College Board decided to remove the score from the SAT exam report.

College Board CEO David Coleman admitted that the organization should focus on the test itself.

"Our exam should measure achievement, not adversity," Coleman said.

As the same time, the College Board said that it would continue to provide admissions counselors with data on students' background information.

Some of the schools that tried out th "adversity score" praised the initiative.

They said they were able to identify candidates they would have otherwise missed.

 

• controversial  ˌkɑːntrəˈvɜːrʃl   논란이 많은 (↔non-controversial, uncontroversial)

• adversity  əd|vɜːrsəti  역경

• biased  ˈbaɪəst 편향된, 선입견이 있는 (↔unbiased)    bias  ˈbaɪəs  편견, 편향 /  편견[선입견]을 갖게 하다 (=prejudice)

• be biased against   ~에게 편견을 가지고 있다

• test taker  수험자

• evaluate  ɪˈvæljueɪt  (양·가치·품질 등을) 평가하다[감정하다] (=assess)

• Theoretically   이론(상)으로, 공론으로   theoretical  |θiːə│retɪkl  이론의, 이론적인 (↔experimental, practical)

• assign  əˈsaɪn   (일·책임 등을) 맡기다[배정하다/부과하다]

• controversy  ˈkɑːntrəvɜːrsi   논란

• consequence  ˈkɑːnsəkwens  (발생한 일의) 결과

• counselor  káunsələr  상담역, 고문, 의논 상대자(adviser)

• admission  ədˈmɪʃn   (승인을 받고) 들어감, 가입, 입장, 입학, 입회

• try out   (추후 사용할지를 결정하기 위해) 시험해 보기[테스트하기]

• praise  preɪz   칭찬, 찬사, 찬양  /  칭찬하다 (=compliment)

• initiative  ɪˈnɪʃətɪv  (특정한 문제 해결·목적 달성을 위한 새로운) 계획 ,  진취성, 결단력, 자주성

• identify  aɪˈdentɪfaɪ   (신원 등을) 확인하다[알아보다]   찾다, 발견하다   identity  aɪˈdentəti    ID. 신원, 신분, 정체

• otherwise  ˈʌðərwaɪz   (만약) 그렇지 않으면[않았다면]