Tougher standards brought higher SAT scores, less remedial work, board told

ATLANTA - The Board of Regents was told Wednesday that tougher admissions standards for Georgia&#39;s colleges and universities have pushed average SAT scores up for entering freshmen and the need for remedial work down. <br> <br> The new standards, which included a requirement for extra college preparatory work in high school, were phased in between 1997 and 2001 and were in full effect by summer 2001. <br> <br> Senior Vice Chancellor Daniel Papp told the board the average SAT score for entering freshmen rose to 1,034 last year, up from 998 in 1995. Papp said the percentage of students in remedial courses dropped to 15 percent in 2001, down from the 1995 level of 27 percent. <br> <br> In addition, Papp said, the number of colleges with more than 50 percent of freshmen in remedial classes fell from three in 1995 to just one last year, while the number of institutions with less than five percent in remedial courses rose from five to 16. <br> <br> Papp told the board it is too soon to determine whether the retention rate of students has been affected by the switch to tougher standards, but he fully expects it to go up. <br> <br> Also to, the board elected a former governor -- Democrat Joe Frank Harris -- as chairman, and passed out three percent pay raises to its college and university presidents.