????美國大學理事會(College Board)上周三對外宣布，SAT考試（學術能力評估測試）即將迎來一些重大變革。理事會總裁大衛?科爾曼說，這些變化是為了讓考試內容更加契合學生們在高中學習的知識，消除考題的欺騙性，讓昂貴的備考服務變得不那么重要。

????從2016年開始，SAT考試將重新實行1600分制，寫作部分將成為選考科目。它也將取消答錯題倒扣分制，因為倒扣分數其實是懲罰學生猜測答案的行為。此外，美國大學理事會還將與可汗學院(Khan Academy)聯手推出免費的SAT在線培訓課程，稱這樣做將有助于創造公平的備考環境。

????科爾曼周三說：“如果我們認為評估必須成為一股追求公平和卓越的力量，那么現在是時候做出一些改變了。”

????這些措施當然很好，但請不要搞錯，變革SAT考試的決定其實是一個經過深思熟慮的商業行為。SAT考試的受歡迎程度已經落后于它的競爭對手ACT（美國大學入學考試），采用新題型正是為了卷土重來，奪回昔日的主導地位。

????很長時間以來，SAT考試一直是衡量高中生是否適合升入大學的首選方式。SAT考試首先被普林斯頓大學(Princeton University)采用，隨即迅速風靡東海岸，這就自動地把它與精英教育聯系在一起。1957年，SAT考試的應試者首次突破100萬人次大關，受歡迎程度在20世紀剩下的時間里持續攀升。2000年，有1,260,278名學生參加了這項考試。

????SAT誕生后不久，ACT就成為它的一個強硬對手。愛荷華州立大學( Iowa State)一位教授于1959年創建ACT考試，用以評估學生的實踐性知識。盡管ACT一直是SAT不敢忽視的競爭對手，但它缺乏SAT考試的顯赫聲譽。而且在相當長時間里，ACT的市場主要局限在中西部。2000年，有100萬多一點的學生參加了ACT考試。

????但2000年以后，ACT 開始呈現出反超SAT的勢頭。其中一個主要推動因素就是州政府的參與。

????為了履行讓學生做好上大學準備的承諾，同時達到2001年通過的《不讓一個孩子掉隊》法案(No Child Left Behind)的要求——這項法案要求高中在中學教育階段至少測試一次學生的閱讀能力、數學能力和科學素養——許多州開始把ACT作為標準考核測試。就在此前幾年，ACT推出了上大學準備標準，將考試成績同實際應用能力掛鉤。在此之前，一位學生的分數只有跟其他學生比較時才有意義。“許多州認為我們能夠為全州統考提供一種更好的解決方案，”ACT發言人埃德?科爾比說。“他們希望找到一種能夠評估本州課程和學習標準、同時還可以激勵學生努力學習的方式，他們知道ACT是一項根據課程設計的考試。”

????2001年，科羅拉多州和伊利諾伊州與ACT簽約，開始在全州范圍內組織管理這項考試。密歇根州和肯塔基州于2007年開始推行這項考試；2009年，懷俄明州也開始了同樣的行動。現在，全美有13個州面向公立高中學生組織管理ACT考試。密蘇里州，威斯康星州和另一個州（它還沒有公開承諾）預期將在來年加入這一陣營。相比之下，目前僅有3個州在組織管理SAT考試，分別是緬因州、特拉華州和愛達荷州。

????由州政府組織管理ACT考試對所有相關方都有利。這些州的學生都將自動免費報名，而且可以用他們的成績申請大學。（ACT考試通常花費36.50美元，如果選考作文，費用將增至52.50美元，目前參加SAT考試需要支付52美元。）應考者中也包括一些自己并沒有報名的學生。

????“它提升了學生對大學的了解程度，”ACT考試客戶互動事務副總裁保羅?維克利說。

????相比于一般的全州統考，學生們更加重視ACT考試，力爭取得好成績，因為考試成績直接關系到他們能否進入理想的大學。這一點當然使得ACT考試更有意義，同時給它帶來了更大的競爭優勢。畢竟，如果你的孩子可以自動報考免費的ACT考試，做父母的為什么要掏錢讓他參加SAT考試，特別是大多數大學同時認可這兩項考試的時候？

????最終的結果是，現在參加ACT考試的學生比以往任何時候都多。根據美國公平與公開考試中心(The National Center for Fair and Open Testing)提供的數據，2012年，有1,666,017名學生參加了這項考試，普及程度一舉超越了SAT，后者的參考人數為1,664,479。去年，ACT的應考者達到1,799,243人（這項統計數字首次包括了有特殊住宿需要的學生），而參加SAT的學生數量卻下降了4,000人。

????SAT考試試圖通過改變題型奪回市場份額。“如果你想了解新版SAT考試，你只需看一看ACT就知道了。沒有猜錯答案的罰分，也沒有深奧的單詞，作文將成為選考項目，”公平與公開考試中心公共教育主管鮑勃?謝弗說。“SAT已經失去了頭把交椅，它已經被更具市場號召力、考試服務更友好、營銷策略更有效的ACT考試甩在了后面。”

????大學理事會和ACT考試公司(ACT, Inc.)都是非營利性組織，但這場考試之爭事關大量的金錢。大學理事會遞交的最近一份報稅表(即990表格）顯示，這個機構在2012年的總收入為7.59億美元。根據ACT考試公司的報稅表，這家公司同一年的營收總額為3.025億美元。

????哥倫比亞大學新聞學院(Columbia School of Journalism)教授、《大測試：美國英才教育秘史》( The Big Test: The Secret History of the American Meritocracy)一書作者尼古拉斯?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，大學理事會的體量變得碩大無比。這個時候，這家機構就必須思考它需要增加多少客戶才能實現自己崇高的非營利性使命這個問題。”（財富中文網）

????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."