I have to tell you a story from probably 15 years ago (actually, I don't have to, but I want to). I was walking through my hallway at school (actually the hallway wasn't really mine. It was where my classroom was [actually, the classroom wasn't ... never mind]) and came across a girl standing motionless at her locker looking pensive. I stopped and asked her if everything was okay. She said yes, that she was just worried about her SAT scores. I asked how she did, and she replied that she had gotten a 575 and a 625. Given the overall decline in scores, I didn't think that was so bad and told her so. I asked why she was worried. She said, "You don't understand. I took them twice; those are my total scores from each time added together." Oops.

Fast forward to the present. From Yahoo News comes some news today that isn't so good - for a second straight year, SAT scores for the most recent high school graduating class stayed at the lowest level in nearly a decade, a trend attributed to a record number of students now taking the test. The piece goes on to compare the results to past years and says, "You only had the best of the best taking the test. (Today) the SAT has become far more inclusive."

So, why is this such a big deal? Think about it. I am sure there are still students racking up perfect scores or near-perfect scores. Just because some other "competitors" may rack up the lowest possible scores that may be bringing down the average (may?), does their skewing results take away at all from those attaining perfection or near-perfection? Of course not! Great scores are still great. So why the shock and awe about increasingly lousy overall SAT scores?

To make this clearer, let's look at the Olympics. Supposedly the best of the best athletes in the world take part; perhaps we need to admit that approach is, uh, elitist and exclusionary. We need to allow more athletes of all abilities to participate; everyone should be able to join in. The world-record shatterers will still ultimately continue to shatter records, won't they? And maybe those who aren't as good or just don't care but were pressured to participate will be inspired to rise to a higher level of performance (or not). And the crème de la crème will still perform as well and break records, Unfortunately the news will say average times and scores are falling, but does that really matter? After all, the Olympics would be becoming far more inclusive, and as a result, average scores will fall, but so what.

One final thought. Maybe we can modify the events to give everyone a level playing field. You know, like in the marathon, instead of making everyone run the 26 miles and 385 yards (42.195 kilometers), maybe some could run a mile or two and be given full credit for that accomplishment if that's all they can do. Maybe others could use motorized vehicles over the distance or be carried on the backs of strong runners. Whatever it takes to accommodate those less able to perform the event should be considered. That way, everyone will be equal, scores and times won't look so bad, and isn't that what today is all about?

Later.