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TODAY'S ISSUE
Says lots of people misuse educational SAT scores
By Annette Gelbrich
Special to GwinnettForum.com

NORCROSS, Feb. 10, 2004 -- SAT scores are invalid, misleading, and discriminatory, and should NOT be linked to the HOPE Scholarship.

Validity of data has to do with sampling size, representative sampling, etc. Look at Clay Helberg's article, "Pitfalls of Data Analysis (or How to Avoid Lies and Damned Lies)"on the Internet at http://my.execpc.com/~helberg/pitfalls/.

Also, check for yourself the report listing Georgia as ranking 50th in the United States, at http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d02/tables/XLS/Tab136.xls. The note on Table 136 published by the National Center for Education Statistics, states clearly, "Rankings of states based on SAT scores alone are invalid because of the varying proportions of students in each state taking the tests."

The six lowest scoring states are all in the South, except Washington D.C., and have high participation rates. The average SAT score is 983 and participation rate is 63.2 percent. The six highest scoring states are all in the Midwest and have the least participation. Average SAT score is 1182 and participation rate is 7 percent (seven!). Is the South¹s education system is "bad"and the Midwest's "good?" No, it's the validity of the data.

The SAT was originally designed in 1933 for "fairness," and was promoted by former Harvard President James Conant to identify intellectuals from all walks of life . However, there are problems in the SAT test itself nowadays. See The Harvard Political Review, June 1, 2001, "Testing the SAT: How racial discrepancies threaten the validity of an educational institution," by Noah C. Eisenkraft

There are cultural, sexual and racial biases. The Harvard Political Review continues, "On average, African-American students perform 93 points lower than their white peers on the math section and 106 points lower on the verbal. Mexican-Americans perform only slightly better... Women also face lower returns... ."

Jay Rosner, executive director of the Princeton Review Foundation, a nonprofit organization created to help underrepresented minorities succeed on standardized tests, has made a personal crusade of exposing the inherent racial bias of the SAT. "The SAT is a white preference test,"Rosner told the HPR. Rosner noted that if "White students answered a question 83 percent right and the black students answered 53 percent there is a pretty heavy white preference in that question."The question looks the same as all the others but, for some unknown reason, students of different races and ethnicities perform at different levels.

Remember, the SAT is not the only collegiate entrance exam. There is also the ACT, which takes a different approach and testing philosophy. Participation rates vary from state to state because more students in some states take the ACT than the SAT, and vice-versa.

HOPE already contains provisions for those who are not "cut out" for college life. There is a review after 30 credit hours. If students do not put forth the effort, they lose the HOPE scholarship.

Grade inflation and the HOPE Scholarship are putting pressure on our scarce Georgia resources, and we need to do something. Current proposals include conducting reviews more frequently than 30 credit hours or reducing the monetary benefit. What we cannot afford to do is to keep students from attending college. That will happen if SAT scores are linked to HOPE. Because the test itself is biased, it will leave behind some hard-working and well-deserving high school students, especially minority and rural students.

Georgia students deserve a chance to prove themselves. And remember, HOPE keeps our kids in Georgia, spending money here at home, keeping our economy a little healthier than it would be otherwise. Don¹t misuse SAT scores.

ELLIOTT BRACK
Alliance's "My Fair Lady" features Gainesville performer
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com

FEB. 10, 2004 -- "My Fair Lady," currently at the Alliance Theatre, is a delightful night for stagegoers. The show opened last week and runs through February 28, and should bring continued applause for its performances.

It also brought back memories for me and my wife. For it was in either 1959 or 1960 that we saw the original play on the London stage. I was stationed in Germany with the Army, and as Barbara¹s mother began to leave for the States, we all three flew to London for a long weekend. We saw two plays, "My Fair Lady"and "West Side Story."Great staging!

We don¹t remember exactly, but we believe Rex Harrison (and Julie Andrews) were in the London show. I remember Chita Rivera was in the "West Side Story"adaptation.

The Alliance opening night was uplifting, maybe because most of the audience know the music so well. The people in the main roles pull off their jobs with aplomb, and the staging is excellent.

Perhaps most exciting is that the Atlanta version is the debut of a Gainesville native in the role of Eliza Doolittle. She is Amanda Watkins, a graduate of Florida State.

She told us: "As an actress, it's one of the best roles in music theatre, because it's based on Pygmalion, and pretty much word for word from the script. To speak the words of George Bernard Shaw is just such a gift, as music theatre. The play must satisfy so many aspects, with time for songs, dance, etc., so it's just a wonderful role."

Amanda brings a lilting voice to the role, and makes a brilliant change from the Cockney talk of the flower-selling urchin to the dignified diction of a lady being presented to the Queen.

While this was her debut at the Alliance, Amanda has impressive credits in her career in theatre, including having most recently appeared as Nellie Forbush opposite Robert Goulet in the touring company of South Pacific. She even won a Best Actress nomination for the National Theatre company.

In the lead role of Henry Higgins is Neal Benari, from Brentwood, Tenn. His portrayal as the speech professor is done quite well, as is the role of Russell Lieb as Colonel Pickering, his sidekick in bringing about the change in Eliza.

Altogether Artistic Director Susan Booth has melded the cast nicely, with a fast-paced evening under tight direction.

Part of the joy of this play is the music and score by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. The simplification of the music, accompanied only by twin pianos, allows the performers on stage to showcase their talents even more. Pianists Karen Huckabee and Henry Palkes display virtuosity in the accompaniment.

One of the best parts in the entire play is the beautifully choreographed scene from opening day of the Ascot Derby. You may remember the movie and staging was brilliantly done in black and white with a lot of characters in unison.

The Alliance presentation is done with only eight or ten characters, again in unison with precise tiny movements as the imaginary horses zip by. It is restrained beauty in action.

Several other slam-bang songs of the evening included Eliza's "I Could Have Danced All Night;" the boisterous "Get Me to the Church On Time,"with Eliza¹s turned-around father; plus the ever-popular, "On the Street Where You Live"sung by Alan Souza in an inspired rendition. The Alliance audience roundly showed its appreciation for these performances.

The Alliance performances run Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., plus Sunday at 7:30 p.m., and matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

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FEEDBACK
2/10: Better check history on what language spoken here first

Editor, the Forum:

In response to Roy McCreary's comment on people not speaking English: Read your history book. Or visit St. Augustine.

Not counting the various American Indian dialects that were here before English, Spanish was a language here long before English was in this hemisphere.

-- Calhoun Johnson, Charleston, S.C.

2/10: Enjoys splendors of Yellowstone during winter

Editor, the Forum:

The picture of David and Nina Freeman with the snowmobile prompts me to write. I could not agree more with their assessment of their ride.

Sandra and I spent last week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on a ski vacation. Last Thursday we snowmobiled all day in Yellowstone, traveling over 90 miles. We each (of course) had our own snowmobile and the scenery was magnificent!! We ate lunch at Old Faithful Park and saw it erupt at 11:59 a.m., another memory that will last forever.

It was our first trip to Wyoming and Yellowstone. We cannot wait to go back. Over 64 inches of snow and it literally snowed every day for the week we were out there. Absolutely lovely!

-- Otis Jones, Lawrenceville

NEWS
2/10: Loganville senator gets breast cancer coalition award

Senator Renee Unterman (R-Loganville) has received the Georgia Breast Cancer Coalition Fund's annual Legislative Award for her work in the Georgia Legislature in preventing the spread of breast cancer today at the group's annual Legislative Breakfast.

Senator Unterman received this award for her work last year on Senate Bill 96, a measure that makes available the off-label use of prescriptive medicines for those battling life-threatening or chronic diseases, particularly breast cancer. The medicine must be prescribed by a health care official and be approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration. In addition, the legislation requires that the drug must be medically necessary before being prescribed.

The bill received unanimous support in both the Senate and the House and was signed into law by Governor Perdue in June.

2/10: Gwinnett resident to head Atlanta Touchdown Club

Lee Baker of Lilburn has been named executive director of the Touchdown Club of Atlanta. Lee has an extensive background working with organizations in the area including the Gwinnett Sports Council, the Atlanta Sports Council, and the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl.

The Touchdown Club of Atlanta is in its 66th year of operation and meets every Monday at noon during football season recognizing local high school student athletes and outstanding high school coaches. At these luncheons, the featured speaker is a collegiate head coach.

Saturday, March 6, The Annual Awards Banquet will be held at the Cobb Galleria Centre and will present the Bobby Dodd Awards for outstanding high school players and will present awards for high school coaches in Georgia. Collegiate award winners include Eli Manning, Ole Miss and David Pollack, UGA. For additional information call 678-472-3147.

ART AND CULTURE
2/10: DaVinci display to be highlight of Children's art museum

Meet Leonardo da Vinci Saturday, February 21 at 11 a.m. Leonardo da Vinci will be visiting the Children's Gallery in the Children's Arts Museum where a new exhibition "The Inventions of Leonardo da Vinci" is on view. Mr. da Vinci will talk with young museum-goers and discuss how he came up with his ideas for the remarkably modern "inventions"on display, courtesy of IBM Corporation.

The public is cordially invited, free of charge, to a special reception Thursday, February 12 from 5-7 p.m. to honor our new exhibition, "Selections from the Permanent Collection." This exhibition features artwork by Picasso, Rauschenberg, Lichtenstein, Tamayo, Miro, and Kandinsky. Also premiering: 13 new works donated by the New York Artists Equity¹s Tamara Kerr Art Bank.