The SAT I and College Readiness
Many students, parents, researchers, and even educational institutions have questioned the validity of the SAT as a reliable indicator of college readiness. Is the SAT biased toward a certain cultural population? What about students who simply do not test well on standardized exams or do poorly under time pressure? We at ICON+ even wrote a blog, “Do SAT Scores Predict Success in College?” a couple of months ago.
One of the College Board’s responses to these serious concerns was their analysis of Class of 2010 test-takers’ SAT scores and high school coursework. The number of class of 2010 SAT test-takers in the USA hit close to 1.6 million, an unprecedented high. Analyzing this incredibly large data pool, the College Board arrived at two important findings.
1. On average, class of 2010 students who had completed a high school core curriculum scored 151 points higher on the SAT than those who had not completed this curriculum. The College Board defines a core curriculum as, “four or more years of English, three or more years of mathematics, three or more years of natural science, and three or more years of social science and history.” The differences in scores were spread evenly across the SAT components of Writing, Reading, and Math.
2. Class of 2010 students who took Advanced Placement and honors classes scored significantly higher on the SAT than did those who did not take these rigorous classes in high school. This suggests that the difficulty level of the high school classes taken matter when it comes to SAT scores.
Data collected by the College Board indicate that SAT scores do reflect readiness for college.
The take-away for future SAT test-takers? In addition to studying for the SAT through test-prep courses, books, and websites, take a challenging high school (Secondary 3 – Junior College 2/Polytechnic) course load that stretches your critical thinking and reasoning abilities!
To read the full article, go to http://press.collegeboard.org/releases/2010/2010-college-bound-seniors-results-underscore-importance-academic-rigor