By Julie Fosgate
National scores for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) of college-bound high school graduates dropped again this year, continuing the decline that began 13 years ago.
Jay V. Berger, associate dean of admissions, said that scores for the university are not in yet for this fall, but that he would not be surprised if they were down also.
The combined score for freshmen entering the university in the fall of 1974 averaged 1,010, while the national average was about 900, he said.
Berger said that this decline does not necessarily mean that students are less able academi-
SAT scores of college-bound graduates continue to decline
cally, but may indicate a change in culture.
The test is required for admission to a number of colleges and universities.
This year one million students were tested, equivalent to approximately two-thirds of the high school graduates entering college this fall.
The report released earlier this month by the College Entrance Examination Board revealed scores that are the lowest
recorded in at least 20 years, said on§_board official.
The test is graded on a scale of 200 to 800. The average scores for verbal ability—including vocabulary, reading comprehension and writing—declined 10 points from 444 to 434 from those in 1974.
Math-ability scores dropped eight points, from 480 to 472.
The report also showed that even though their test scores were low, the high school
academic performance of those tested did not reflect such a decline.
“Three-fourths of the graduates are in the highest two-fifths of their high school class,” the report said. “Their latest grades in six academic areas average 3.1 or ‘B\ ”
Berger attributes this to inflation in grade points: good grades are easier to obtain now than they were 10 years ago.
Fifteen to twenty years ago
fewer people were taking the SAT. Particularly minority and lower-income students were relying on state institutions that may not have required the SAT for admission, Berger said.
Today, a wider admissions policy has resulted in a more diverse group of students being tested from many cultural backgrounds, he said.
The SAT was originally designed as a combination of testing techniques from the East Coast, aimed at students on the eastern seaboard, Berger continued.
Berger said the admissions office uses basically four criteria in accepting students. The high-
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Daily m Trojan
Volume LXVIII, No. 12
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
Wednesday, October 1, 1975
Decision on travel bureau due Nov. 1
The university then had to loan $27,000 to the travel bureau so new flights could be arranged for the students.
The review of the bureau is being conducted by Paul Moore, administrative associate for student affairs. Moore has been involved with the travel bureau in the past and assisted in the university’s efforts to find substitute flights for the students this summer.
Appleton said if the review determines that similar problems could occur again, the travel bureau would be shut down.
“We are interested in developing programs and services for students that are valuable and good,” Appleton said. ‘‘I’d like to see some type of service exist.”
But Appleton said that the travel bureau is at a turning point “We will either avoid that type of problem through the establishment of policies and procedures, or we will not function he said.
Ed Davis proud of his candor, honesty
By Carolyn Horn
associate city editor
Treading lightly is not the style of Ed Davis, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. His opinions and outspoken manner raised a few tempers when he spoke at Bovard Auditorium on Tuesday.
The crowd was calm, almost pleased, during the first part of Davis’ speech when he performed for the audience— striking poses for the photographers and showing off his LAPD belt buckle.
But when the discussion began, so did the discontent. However, the mood of the audience didn’t faze the chief, a graduate of the School of Public Administration.
During a luncheon after his speech, he said, “I think they appreciate candor—most of the time they get hypocrisy. At least they can admire my honesty.”
Two topics of disagreement were Davis’ opinions on homosexual police officers and enforcement of marijuana laws.
Gay police officers
Concerning the acceptance of homosexuals as police officers, Davis said, “We have to look at a prospective officer as a whole man to see if he has conducted his life so that he can function as a policeman.”
He said that were would be no particular discrimination except for those who
had actually been charged with a homosexual act.
During the luncheon, however, Davis said that he couldn’t see how a homosexual could function normally as an officer, because he doesn’t consider homosexuality a normal lifestyle.
Students asked why police officers spent so much time making marijuana arrests when so many other serious crimes were going on.
Dope arrests incidental
To that, Davis said, “Three-fourths of the dope arrests are incidental to the intended arrest. When they’re booking a guy, they find the dope. We’re not making such a big effort; you’re just paranoid.”
Davis also spoke about gun control legislation during the luncheon.
The passing of restrictive gun-control legislation is a major aspect of crime prevention, he said. Registration and licensing controls on a local level wouldn’t be as feasible now as specific federal and state legislation dealing with interstate trafficking of guns and stiffer penalities for carrying concealed weapons, he added.
Crime rate up
Crime in Los Angeles is increasing, but less than in most places in the United States, Davis said.
Crime was up 6% here in 1974,” Davis said, “but it rose 17% nationally.”
In the Watts district crime has gone down 5% since Davis has been chief of police.
The future of crime control overall looks pretty bleak, Davis said, and what’s gone on during the past 15 years has made it that way. He cited some examples:
“Television has preempted family life,” Davis said.
“Suburbia is prosaic and bland—there is no chance to establish roots.
“The church is no longer an institution of the family.
“Dope is spreading through our country faster than it has in any western country.”
Future bleak
The police chief doesn’t forsee any improvement in the future; he sees a doubling of the crime rate during the next 10 years.
During his six years as chief of police, Davis’ name has been in the papers a lot. He says that what he says is often twisted in print.
“The newspaper medium as a whole is intellectually corrupt—I won’t get fair treatment by the press until I find a carbon copy of my conscience,” he said.
Davis was introduced in Bovard Auditorium as a man whose statements draw admiration from some and nausea from others.
“Big Ed,” as he called himself during his speech, approved of the statement.
“I never aspired to be anything but an L.A. cop,” he said.
By John Didion
The future of the Student Travel Bureau will be decided by Nov. 1 and the office may be shut down, James R. Appleton, vice-president for student affairs, has announced.
The travel bureau’s operation is being reviewed because of problems that occurred during the summer involving flights for more than 100 students traveling to and from Europe.
The students had their travel plans changed when the air club hired by the travel bureau went out of business.
The club, Air Caledonia, had been paid to make two round-trip flights to Europe. It went out of business after the first flight to Europe was made.
CHIEF TALKS ON CAMPUS
The review of the travel bureau has included an internal audit by the university. The Student Affairs Office is now reviewing the findings of that audit in order to determine if the auditor’s recommendations can be met
ABRAHAM VAN KEMPEN
Consideration will also be given to the advantages of a university travel bureau as opposed to commercial travel opportunities for students. A study is also being made of Civil Aeronautics Board regulations for types of flights available to a university travel bureau.
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