Trends Among Higher Achieving Students: SAT Scores
Trends Among Higher Achieving Students: SAT Scores
The Scholastic Aptitude Test is taken by many college-bound seniors; as such, it measures the mathematics and verbal skills of the Nation's high-achieving students. The SAT is, however, a rather limited indicator of achievement. It measures a narrow range of academically oriented skills, does not test a national sample of students, and has been accused of being
racially and sexually biased. Also, it is a multiple choice test; later in this chapter, the utility of such tests is challenged. (See "Improvements in Assessing Achievement.") Despite these concerns, the SAT scores
have been shown to be a good predictor of students' college success. Test scores are better at predicting academic success at selective universities than any other criteria (Klitgaard 1984). SAT results are
particularly useful predictors of success because they allow for examination of the full distribution of test-takers, as well as by such factors as race, sex, and socioeconomic status.
Scores by Sex
Scores by Race/Ethnicity
Contents
SearchContinue