S

SCHIZOPHRENIA

See: MENTAL DISORDERS

SCHOLASTIC APTITUDE TEST

The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is a standardized
college admission test, consisting of a verbal portion
and a mathematics portion, that was developed by the
Educational Testing Service of Princeton, New Jersey.
Verbal reasoning is examined by the test taker’s abili-
ty to correctly analyze and complete analogies, sen-
tence completion problems, and reading
comprehension passages. Mathematical reasoning is
tested through the completion of multiple-choice
items covering areas such as algebra and geometry, as
well as questions that require the student to produce
original answers. With possible scores ranging from
200 to 800 on each section, individual scores are
based on a comparison of the student’s performance
and the performance of students taking the test in the
past, such that the average score is approximately 500
for each section. Students traditionally take the SAT
in eleventh or twelfth grade as a part of their college
admission portfolio. While colleges and universities
have traditionally used SAT scores to predict student
success, some critics argue that the test is biased
against certain racial, ethnic, and economic groups,
and have advocated its exclusion from the admissions
process.

See also: STANDARDIZED TESTING

Bibliography

Educational Testing Service. ‘‘Frequently Asked Questions and An-

swers.’’ In the College Board [web site]. Princeton, New Jer-

sey, 2001. Available from http://www.collegeboard.com/sat/

html/students/faq.html; INTERNET.

University of California. ‘‘UC and the SAT.’’ In the University

of California [web site]. Berkeley, California, 2001. Avail-

able from http://www.ucop.edu/ucophome/commserv/sat/

welcome.html; INTERNET.

Scott Weckerly

SCHOOL VOUCHERS

Under most education systems, government funding

is allocated to state-run schools that enjoy the exclu-

sive right to offer public education services. School

vouchers are an alternative funding mechanism in

which parents receive a voucher that can be redeemed

at any state-run or independent school of their

choice. According to economists ranging from the

eighteenth century’s Adam Smith to contemporary

Nobel laureate Milton Friedman, parental choice,

competition between schools, and other market

forces improve educational quality and lower costs for

all families.

The states of Maine and Vermont have had small-

scale voucher programs operating since the 1800s,

but attention in the early twenty-first century was fo-

cused on more recent systems such as the one serving

Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Critics argue that vouchers vi-

olate the separation of church and state (because par-

ents can use them at private schools run by religious

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