Last week it was announced that BAMN has filed a law suit against the College Board, the company that administers the SAT college entrance exam. BAMN alleges that the College Board deliberately used questions which gave Asian American students a comparative advantage on the Spring 1997 test. As examples, BAMN listed in their court briefing:
_Question 5 from the analytical section, 1996: “Suppose you are going to cook some vegetable curry. You have three potatoes, two carrots, and a cup of rice. How many bricks of curry sauce do you use?”
1. Two
2. One
3. One and a half
4. D. One and three-quarters
5. I like curry
_
The College Board gave the correct answer as “D.” However, those who answered “E” were given half credit.
_Question 17 from the verbal section, 1997: “Yes or no: were you or either of your parents born in Asia?”
1. Yes
2. No
_
In this case, full credit was given for “A” while no credit was given for “B.” This, the most controversial of questions, is explained as a “mistake” by the College Board which claims the words “in Asia” were supposed to have been stricken from the final version of the test. A third question which came under fire:
_Question 14 from the verbal section, 1995: “Suppose you decide not to go to medical school or law school. Will your parents make threats on your life?”
1. Yes
2. No
3. No, they would just disown me
_
In this question, full credit was given for “A,” half credit was given for “C,” and negative credit was given for “B.”
BAMN claims that such questions give unfair advantages to Asian American students who take the test. An initial hearing, which is scheduled for October 30, will decide whether or not the case will go to trial. Said Tom Pinko, attorney for BAMN, “Such questions display an obvious bias in favor of Asian Americans. Down with our bourgeois pig oppressors!”
