Throw out those flashcards, put down that bulky SAT test preparation book and fire up your iPod.

Kailua writer and English professor Michael Shapiro and two musicians from New York have created a collection of 13 rock songs that use more than 260 critical SAT vocabulary words and their definitions in the lyrics. By listening to the songs and memorizing the lyrics, you'll have some of the most commonly used words on the SAT, say the creators. "Rock the SAT" includes a study guide with the music CD.

"Rock the SAT," by Shapiro, Michael Moshan and David Mendelsohn (McGraw-Hill, $16.95), is available at bookstores or online. For more information, visit www.rockthesat.com.

EDUCATION FACT

Q: What percentage of students are transported at public expense nationally and how much does the public spend on transportation on a per-pupil basis?

A: In 2002-03, 56 percent of students in public schools were transported at public expense at a cost of $654 per pupil. The proportion of public school pupils transported at public expense has remained relatively stable since 1980-81.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics

RESOURCES

GETTING COSMIC

The American Physical Society Division of Particles and Fields and the Pacific Region Particle Physics Communities invite local teachers to learn more about physics and astronomy at their conference this week and next.

Here is a list of public talks on physics and astronomy and other events of interest to science teachers and students: