European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 17, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday april 17, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 9 education news reporter knows fhe score on sats editor s note staff writer ran Jensen joined the ranks of High school students averse earlier this year in taking the Scholastic aptitude test that annual measure of � College bound student s Mettle lit filed the following report originally written lit no 2 Pencil you May now begin. By Ron Jensen staff writer Wiesbaden West Germany in the nol so Distant past african tribes sent Young boys into the Jungle armed Only with their growing maturity. Those that returned with the fresh Pelt of a lion raped from their shoulders became adults in the eyes of their  modern America the Scholastic aptitude test serves a similar purpose. It is part of the rite of passage from High school to College one thai is endured by thousands of sweaty palmed teen agers each  student s sat score denotes his or her. Well. Scholastic aptitude the Abil Ity to spot a dangling participle and de Fine words like  a High score can be considered in some ways a varsity letter for classroom work. A Low score can Blaze tile a Scarlet letter in the student s eyes before Heather Corcoran a senior at Gen.  High school took the test in late january she said i want Todo Good but if i Don to it s not the end of the world then she laughed sort of and said i just won t go to College next , said her guidance Counselor Angela Holden. Who was sitting  test is just one indication. It is definitely not the Only thing a College looks at she , transcripts and personal recommendations carry As much weight or More than the weight of the sat Holden  has been More than 20 years since i mane Vered the family Plymouth along the Dusty country roads of Western Illi Nois toward the sat and my last confrontation with i. That wobbly legged Ritter used in figuring circumferences of s i or angles of triangles. I forget which. Like Heather. 1 was convinced that the next few hours would determine my Aca Demic future a Low score dooming me to life on the loading docks of a dog food  final score that Day was 1,080, a Btij Vallui a win my ii a  i tact i Learned Only recently because wrote my High school guidance Counselor and asked. What had seemed of Monu mental importance that Clear fall Day Long ago had slipped from memory. 1 scored 470 on verbal skills and 610 Omath skills so. Naturally 1 became a journalist. My Counselor also sent along my High school transcripts a cruel excess on Bis part my attitude at the time must have been similar to that of Jeff Krossman also a senior at Arnold High after he look the lest the first  forgo about it he said in january a few Days before taking his second shot at the sat. I Loo. Had forgotten about it until a editor suggested i take the test again for this Story. H seemed a reasonable re quest although it had been Yean since i held a no. 2 Pencil in my  test was Given at Lindsey air Sta Tion in Wiesbaden Early one morning tests Are Given in the morning under the mistaken belief that people Are fresher at that time of Day. Mountains of Evi Dence can be found in daily newspaper newsrooms to dispute this i was handed a lest Backet and a typed note telling me that irl had to leave the room for any reason i would not be permitted to return and continue making Ita test of control As Well As aptitude. The lest was frightening for one so far removed from the classroom. I was sup posed to determine the areas of manges and the definitions of words like anted Ilu Vian which  miss since 1 had heard an an disc jockey use the word Only that morning. I was to Point out word usage errors in sentences a task made More difficult by the presence of the possible answer no  and Uherc was i which is used to determine Wavelength frequency. Or batting averages. Something like that. The conventional Wisdom around stripes was that my verbal scores would grow and my math scores would Plum met in the years since High school which was proven Correct when the results arrived recently. My verbal score was 720,an improvement of 250. My math score dropped Only slightly to 570, which is Why i m often asked to figure percent Ages for colleagues writing about lax  took some of the wind out of my sails however Lelling me in a sense you be had continuing education in verbal skills because of your profs my scores can t be compared to Holden s students. They were pretty Light lipped about  did t do As Good As i thought Heather said soon Afler her score arrived i wished i d done better. When i was taking it 1 thought in was a Breeze. When i got in Back i was kind of  score would no doubt be warmly welcomed by Many sat takers and is easily Good enough for her to big classes at Florida stale University next car. But she s a  la just have to work harder in school she said with some resignation. De pile her students concern. Holden tries to assuage i hair worry by downplay ing the test s  think kids who Don t score Well on the sat if they have Good grades in Good courses they need not worry much about the sat she said.-,"some  optimal schools do not even look at the.  s True. Bui just in Case College bound students should be prepared to Deal at least one last Lime with i which is a formula for determining the Speed of Light in a vacuum. Or Miles per gallon. Something like , it s easier than skinning a lion Start planning your future Early High schooners told Wiesbaden Wen Germany s4s a student with e t5 on College should Start thinking ahead before the final year of High school Wei Angela Holden Counselor at Wiesbaden s Gen.  Nold High school. I really think the Junior year is when you need to Start determining what fits and where you want to go Slit said. It is also a Good Lime to Lake the Scho Lastic aptitude test. Which is one Way colleges measure the Likely Success of in coming fresh mini Holden suggest taking the lest late inthe Junior year or Early in the senior year of High school giving a student unhappy with his or her score a Chance to take the lest again if a student happens to score lower on the second lest the results from the first test can be used. The College Board which administers the sat provides a guide called taking the sat one suggestion provided is Over the Long term a Good selection of solid academic courses wide Reading and consistent hard work on your studies arc the Best  in the Short run the College Board suggests being familiar with the formal of molest How u is organized the kinds of questions asked the terms and concept used and How in is timed and scored. This information is found in the guide. The guide suggests a checklist of activities on the Day before the lest including reviewing the Sample questions collecting needed materials such As identification and two no. 2 pencils spending a related evening and getting a Good nights sleep. Dodds professionals getting raises of Over 5%"sassi"T"1 ,satrt.,a ssh ifs Saftig. Of fits we Washington teacher and other professionals in the military s Over seas schools will be receiving pay raises of More than 5 percent retroactive to aug. I " the announcement last week Fallows consultations Between the overseas Edu cation association and the department of defense wage fixing authority. In addition to teachers the raises which average 5.74 percent affect guidance Counselor school psychologists and so Cial workers for 3 local employees. With Ibe raises a starting teacher forthe department of defense dependent schools cams $20,270 per year. A Start ing teacher with a master s degree will those hired from the United Laws also Recei e a Lavorce housing allowance. The lop salary for a teacher with a Bachelor s degree with 30 graduate cred its is now 134,320. Teachers holding a plus 30 credits towards o doctorate can earn up to $38,755. Teacher with doctorates get s24.500 in their first year with a top salary of s40,180. Social workers will earn from $22.460to $40,045, depending on degrees held and years of service. Salaries for guid Ance Counselor Range from 522,245 10s40.6bo, while pay for school psychologists ranges from $25,155 to s41.09s. Dodds teachers arc paid salaries equal to the average pay for similar positions in stateside Urban school districts w1.ii a population of 100,000 or  pay raises Are delayed each year until a salary Survey is conducted in the 174 districts in the United Stales thai Mecl the population requirement. The average salary for Public school teachers Rose 5.6 percent this year according to the National education associations a result of the agreement Over teacher salaries discussions on school principals1 salaries will be scheduled soon Dodds officials said