I Took The SAT Again After 41 Years

在接下来的12个月中，将有150万年轻人不得不为迎接美国的“高考”SAT考试而忙碌紧张和焦虑。我要对他们说的是：我与你们同甘苦。为接受我十几岁儿子提出的挑战，我在今年5月初参加了SAT考试，看看一个57岁的母亲会有什么样的成绩。我儿子说现在的青少年必须更聪明反应更快更具竞争力，才能在SAT中取得好成绩。我觉得他说得对，因为自从他上初二起，我就已经无法帮他补习数学了。此外，在我41年前考过SAT后，围绕这个考试的文化和期望值都已发生极大变化。为称称自己的斤两，我按下心中的恐惧，硬着头皮复习了六周时间，并在2009年5月2日参加了SAT考试。Cristin J. O'Connor现在青少年的日子真的更难过了，这是我从中得到的感受，但获得感受的方式出乎预料。诚然，年纪不饶人，我的记性已经不行了，但我觉得应该可以通过学习来弥补大部分的差距。让我吃惊的是，自己在备考过程中所产生的心理障碍。为应对别人越来越高的期望值和贯穿于SAT备考过程中的竞争压力（美国文化的体现），我不由自主地陷入一种青少年特有的懈怠应付的学习习惯之中，而这些都是我教导孩子们必须避免的行为。这种经历将有助于我在今后成为一个更包容的母亲。下面是我在日记里写下的一些反思：3月11日：我以高昂的斗志开始备考。当我把自己即将迎接的挑战告诉朋友同事和联络人的时候，他们都大为惊讶。“你到底在想什么？” 约翰霍普金斯大学(Johns Hopkins University)精神病学和神经学教授杰森•布兰特(Jason Brandt)大笑着说，“我可不会这么干。”另外有个朋友直截了当地问我：“你疯了吗？”现实很快就让我清醒过来。我记得1967年报考SAT的时候，只填写了一张简单的表格，寄过去完事。现在，我登录CollegeBoard.com报名，美国大学理事会(CollegeBoard)是纽约一家管理SAT考试的非盈利机构。报名流程包括一个问卷表，上面要我用打勾的方式列出至少25门自己学过的大学预修课程（我在高中时一门也没学过）在高中获得的41类大学课程学分（我又是零鸭蛋），以及24种课外活动（我只有两种）。这已经让我觉得自己是个懒惰的家伙了。3月18日：我1967年备考SAT时，唯一干的事就是在考试前一晚把闹钟上好弦。这次我加大了备考力度，但也只是和普通青少年一样，学习了美国大学理事会编写的售价19.95美元的《SAT官方学习指南》(Official SAT Study Guide)，而没有去上价格昂贵的考前培训班。虽然只是简单复习一下，但两英寸厚的《学习指南》还是比我以前接触过的任何一本教科书都要厚重；而我知道，其他应试者看的书还要比我多得多。虽然我知道自己已是大不如前，但第一次数学模拟测验的成绩还是让我吓了一跳。美国大学理事会的一位发言人说，SAT的难度没有增加，还是考量学生在高中学到的知识。然而，在满分800分的模拟测验中，我的分数在430到490这一档，在对计分规则变化进行调整后，仍比我1967年的640分低了23%到33%。我从网上丰富的大学录取信息得知，如果我真的报考大学，这个成绩肯定进不了我的本科母校密歇根州立大学(Michigan State University)。我很欣慰，这次模拟测验除了伤我的自尊心，没有造成实质性的伤害。4月1日：我打算像一个高中生那样准备考试，即在学生上课时间做自己的工作，利用晚上和周末复习。我以为成年人的工作习惯能帮助我更从容地备考，却忘了现在的青少年早就习惯漫长的学习时间，比我那时候投入的时间长多了。研究表明，仅从1982年到2003年，学生做作业的平均时间就增加了50%。Cristin J. O'Connor本文作者Sue Shellenbarger为第二次参加SAT考试而作准备。举个例子来说，跟随我儿子一天的学习生活就已经让我累趴下了。早上5点半，我和儿子一起起床，然后我上班他上课。儿子是学校的运动员，放学后他在雨中参加了田径运动会的几个项目，而我也这个长达四个小时的活动中担任了家长志愿者。我们两人浑身湿透筋疲力尽地开车回家，晚上9点一起坐下来学习。可是20分钟后，我支持不住了，一头倒在床上，而他又学了两个小时。第二天早上我忍不住抱怨太累时，他笑了，说：“欢迎来到我的世界。”4月24日：我已经远远落后于原先制定的学习计划，只完成了《学习指南》上八个模拟测验中的五个。我的学习习惯已经荡然无存，起初我会坐在安静明亮的厨房桌子上按部就班地复习，但现在这个吃力不讨好的学习过程已经让我不厌其烦。头天晚上复习的一个数学定理，但第二天就忘个干干净净。我的脑袋好像是个漏底的箩筐，什么也装不下。想要记住函数和公式的焦虑无时不在，当我用刀斜切一个烤好的奶酪三明治时，会忍不住想去计算直角三角形的斜边长度。我放弃了明亮整洁的厨房桌子，改在沙发上复习，开着电视，吃着点心，把脚放在茶几上，有一搭没一搭地翻着那本《学习指南》。我的内心出现斗争，一边是个家长式的声音在咆哮：“关掉电视！拿走薯片！你不知道还有一个礼拜就要考试了吗？”而另一边那个青少年对此置若罔闻。我意识到，学习的过程太辛苦了，自己渴望有一点小小的放松。5月2日：高考日到了。我早早来到考点，最后复习一下数学。我看到不少运动型多功能车(SUV)开过来，里面是孩子们和他们的父母，看来参加SAT已经成为一个家庭大事。今天的200多个应试者都在交流着报考大学的难点，并希望自己能考得好一点。“你在这里干嘛？”我邻桌的一个孩子好奇地问道。我解释说，我接受儿子提出的挑战，来参加SAT考试。“太酷了！”他说。然而，进入3小时45分钟的考试后，大家的情绪都变得灰暗起来。我的脑子运行得跟1979年的老电脑主机一样慢，头几道数学题就把我卡住了，另外三道题也因为紧张而答不出来。我在心里问自己：你来这里瞎搞什么？在考试的休息间歇，我邻桌几个应试者把头埋在桌子下面，看起来非常沮丧，还有一些学生在互相议论。“我那个部分考砸了。”我听到有个学生说，“但我可以下次再考。”这个想法让我不寒而栗。当监考官宣布下面是考试的最后一部分时，教室里传出竭力抑制的一声欢呼。等考试结束监考官宣布可以离开后，我们全都跑了出去，好像教室着火一样。我脑子里一片空白，开车离开时，轮子上了马路牙子。我儿子在家里等我，“怎么样？”他问。我面无表情地凝视着他，说不出话来。终于，我依稀听到有几个字从自己嘴里憋出来：“我觉得糟透了。”这是我一整天来说得最长的一句话。5月中旬：我向一些精通认知老化问题的神经学家询问，为什么我学习起来那么费劲。位于达拉斯的德克萨斯大学(University of Texas)认知神经学教授丹尼斯•派克(Denise Park)说，我难以记住新东西的毛病很正常。“年纪大的人必须付出更多的努力才能掌握新知识，而且在学习方法上要更讲策略，”她说，“你的脑子不可能像年轻时那样灵活了。”位于Charlottesville的弗吉尼亚大学(University of Virginia)心理学教授蒂莫西•索特豪斯(Timothy Salthouse)说，我应该对自己数学成绩的下降有心理预期。如果不从事与数学相关领域的工作，大多数成年人都会“遗忘并用错一些数学定理”，他说，而且“大脑确实会随着年龄增大而变得更迟钝”，对那些要求分析或抽象推理的问题会越来越不在行。不过，派克博士说，我在阅读部分的分数可能会上升，因为知识和技巧的积累可以抵消脑部认知方面的衰退。5月21日：我焦虑不安地登录CollegeBoard.com查询成绩。老年人旗开得胜！我在阅读部分得了800分，经调整后与1967年的成绩差不多。但让我沮丧的是，作为一个职业作家，我的作文只得了10分，而满分是12分。（这个失误会不会影响我下次的绩效考评呢？）当我终于鼓起勇气瞄了一眼数学成绩后，我发现成绩有所下降，但要比模拟测验时好。我的数学部分得了600分，比1967年的成绩下降6.25%。我打电话给美国国家老年研究所(National Institute on Aging)神经老化学的负责人莫莉•瓦格斯特(Molly Wagster)，问问她对此有何看法。她鼓励我将这个成绩视为一个成功。她说，我通过学习弥补了大部分的认识损失，这一事实证明，老年人“不应怯于尝试各种新的东西，应该认为我们还有能力应对新的智力挑战。” 我问道，甚至包括重考SAT这样的傻事？是的，她回答说，包括这个。不过，我已经在这方面做够了。这次重考SAT的尝试让我儿子笑了个够，他说为我感到骄傲。我这辈子不会再考了。我要对150万即将踏上备考SAT的年轻人说：上帝保佑你们，愿周围的大人对你们有点同情心。Sue Shellenbarger相关阅读孩子的零用钱怎么花 2009-06-02美国下岗爷们转战家庭一片天 2009-05-19如何为“大孩子”充当衣着顾问？ 2009-05-15生孩子，该早还是该晚？ 2009-05-07孩子桀骜 是捣蛋鬼还是天才? 2009-04-30


To the 1.5 million teenagers who will fret, cram and agonize over taking the most widely used college-entrance exam, the SAT, over the next 12 months, I have something to say: I'm right there with you.On a challenge from my teenage son, I took the SAT earlier this month to see how a 57-year-old mom would do. My son says today's teens have to be smarter, faster and more competitive to succeed. I suspect he's right; I haven't been able to help my kids with their math homework since eighth grade. Moreover, in the 41 years since I took the SAT, our culture and the expectations surrounding the exam have changed drastically. To see how I'd measure up, I swallowed my fears, crammed for six weeks and took the test May 2.Life for teens is indeed harder, my experiment taught me, but not in the way I expected. Aging took a toll on my mental abilities, to be sure, but I was able to erase most of the losses by studying. What surprised me more were the psychological hurdles. Coping with the ramped-up expectations and competitiveness that infuse the SAT process -- a reflection of our entire culture -- sent me into a tailspin of adolescent regression, procrastination and sloppy study habits, all the behaviors I've taught my children to avoid. What I learned will make me a more tolerant parent.Some reflections from a diary I kept:March 11: I begin my experiment in high spirits. Friends, colleagues and news sources express amazement when I tell them I took this challenge. 'What were you thinking?' asks Jason Brandt, a professor of psychiatry and neurology at Johns Hopkins University, laughing. 'I would never do that.' A friend asks point-blank, 'Are you crazy?'I start sobering up all too soon. When I signed up for the SAT in 1967, I recall mailing in a brief paper form with a few facts. Today, as I sign up on CollegeBoard.com, the Web site of the New York-based nonprofit that oversees the SAT, the process includes a questionnaire with boxes to check off no less than 25 different kinds of advanced-placement classes I've taken (I took none in high school), 41 types of college credit already earned in high school (none again), and 24 categories of extracurricular activities (I have two). I feel like a slacker already.March 18: My entire preparation for the SAT in 1967 consisted of setting my wind-up alarm clock the night before. I up the ante this time, but only to the level of an average teen, bypassing costly test-prep courses in favor of studying the College Board's $19.95 'Official SAT Study Guide.' Even though this amounts to Test-Prep Lite, the two-inch-thick Study Guide is still fatter than any textbook I ever had. Other test-takers, I realize, are doing far more.I expect my mental skills to be rusty, but I'm not prepared for the results of my first math practice test. The College Board says the SAT hasn't gotten harder; It still measures skills students are learning in the high-school classroom, a spokeswoman says. But this time around I score in the 430-to-490 range out of a possible 800 in math, a drop of 23% to 33% from my 1967 score of 640, after adjustment to reflect changes in scoring. Using the wealth of admissions data available online, I learn that if I were actually applying to colleges, that score would put me well on my way to getting rejected by my undergraduate alma mater, Michigan State University. I'm glad nothing hinges on this test but my pride.April 1: I plan my studies to track a high-schooler's day, doing my job while students are in class and studying nights and weekends. I assume my adult work habits will serve me well. But I've forgotten that today's teens are already toned up for far longer workdays than I ever put in at their age. The average student's homework time rose 50% between 1982 and 2003 alone, research has shown.One day typical of a high-school athlete, for example, leaves me down for the count. I rise at 5:30 a.m., the same time as my son, then work while he's in class. After school, he runs several events at a rainy four-hour track meet while I too stand in the rain, as a parent volunteer. Chilled, wet and exhausted, we drive home and both sit down to study at 9 p.m. Twenty minutes later, I'm toast. I head for bed, while he studies another two hours. When I complain the next morning, he laughs. 'Welcome to my world,' he says.April 24: I am far behind my original study plan, completing only five of the Study Guide's eight practice tests. My study habits have gone down the tubes. I started out working in a disciplined way at our quiet, well-lighted kitchen table. But I'm becoming frustrated with this thankless process. After learning a math concept one night, I've forgotten it by the next; my brain seems to lack a holding bin. Anxiety over functions and formulas is ever-present. Slicing a grilled-cheese sandwich diagonally, I find myself pondering the length of the hypotenuse.I abandon the bright, orderly kitchen table and kick back on the couch. With the TV babbling, a snack in hand and my feet on the coffee table, I leaf through the Study Guide lackadaisically. My inner parent rages: 'Turn off that TV! Put away those chips! Don't you realize the SAT is only a week away?' But my inner teenager ignores her. The studying is so taxing, I realize, that I'm yearning for small comforts.May 2: Test Day. Arriving early at the test location for a last-minute math review, I see SUVs pull in with two parents inside with their teens. Taking the SAT has become a family affair. The buzz among today's 200-plus test takers is about college admissions hurdles and hoped-for test scores.'What are you doing here?' asks a teen in a neighboring desk, more curious than critical. I explain that I accepted a challenge from my son. 'Cool!' he says. But his and others' moods grow grimmer as we dive into the 3-hour-45-minute exam. With my brain grinding as slowly as a 1979 mainframe, I freeze during the first of several math sections and blow at least three problems from anxiety. What am I doing here?Between sections, my neighboring test takers put their heads down on their desks in apparent misery. The students commiserate on breaks. 'I blew that section,' I overhear one say, 'but I can take the test again.' I grimace at the thought.A muted cheer breaks out when the proctor announces the final section. After we finish and are dismissed, we all race out as if the room were on fire. I've not a thought left in my head. Driving away, I jump a curb. My son awaits at home. 'How'd it go?' he asks. I stare at him blankly. I am speechless. Tabula rasa. Pummeled into a sense of inadequacy, I hear the words 'awful, I think,' come out of my mouth, the longest sentence I will utter for the rest of the day.Mid-May: I ask neuroscientists who specialize in cognitive aging why studying was such a struggle. Denise Park, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Texas, Dallas, says my day-to-day problems remembering new material were typical. 'Older people have to work harder to learn new information, and be more strategic about it,' she says. 'You're not going to be as efficient as you were when you were younger.'I should be prepared for a decline in my math scores, says Timothy Salthouse, a psychology professor at University of Virginia, Charlottesville. Most adults experience 'some forgetting, and disuse, of mathematics' if they don't work in math-related fields, he says. Also, 'the brain does slow down with age, and people tend to be less mentally flexible' with problems that require analytical or abstract reasoning.But Dr. Park says my verbal scores will probably go up, as accumulated knowledge and skill offset the slowdown in my cognitive hardware.May 21: I log anxiously onto CollegeBoard.com for my results. Score one for old people! I've scored 800 on the verbal or 'critical reading' section, about the same as in 1967, after adjustment. To my dismay as a professional writer, I earn only 10 out of 12 possible points on the essay. (Will this lapse be reflected in my next performance review?) When I find the courage to peek at my math score, I see that it has fallen, not as badly as the practice test, to 600, down 6.25% from 1967. I call Molly Wagster, chief of the neuropsychology of aging branch of the National Institute on Aging, for comment, and she encourages me to regard this as a triumph.The fact that I could erase most of my cognitive losses with study proves older people 'shouldn't be deterred from continuing to push forward on all sorts of adventures, including feeling that we're competent' to tackle new mental challenges, she says. Even something as nuts as retaking the SAT? I ask. Yes, she replies -- even that.For now, though, I've had enough cognitive adventures. The experiment has afforded my son a lot of laughs. He says he's proud of me. And I'm saying goodbye to the SAT, for life. And to the 1.5 million teens who are only starting this process: Godspeed. May the adults around you have compassion.Sue Shellenbarger