Admission and Transfer Policy Review Task Force 1

The College Board’s mission is to ensure that every student has the opportunity to prepare for, enroll in and graduate from college.

A Measure of College Readiness The SAT evaluates the cognitive tools necessary to succeed in college and beyond, including the ability to: – Think critically – Solve problems – Communicate effectively What is the SAT ® ? 3 A Predictor of College Outcomes Is a valid predictor of meaningful college outcomes on a student’s path to a college degree, including: – Freshman Year GPA – 2 nd, 3 rd and 4 th year GPAs – College Retention

What’s On The Test… The SAT ® assesses the core academic skills necessary for college success and how students apply those skills. 4  44 multiple-choice items, 10 student- produced response items  Number & Operations, Algebra, Geometry, Data Analysis  25 minute essay, take sides on an accessible topic  49 multiple-choice grammar/usage questions  Essay sub-score 2-12  Short (paragraph) and long (up to 800 word) passages  48 questions, make inferences, draw conclusions  19 sentence completion questions Critical Reading Mathematics Writing

Students enrolled in a core curriculum perform better on the SAT ® Core curriculum is defined by at least four years of English, and at least three years of mathematics, three years of natural science, and three years of social science and history. +48 points +47 points +48 points Score Source: College-Bound Seniors 2011 Cohort Data 5 SAT ® Mean Scores by Curriculum Students who take a core curriculum in high school perform better on the SAT and are better prepared for college than students who do not.

Grade Average for All Subjects* High school grades are increasing over time *Based on four-point system, where A=4.0 Note: 1990 GPAs reflect both SAT Subject Test™ takers and SAT ® takers. GPAs for reflect SAT ® takers only. 6 The need for a consistent national measure is more important than ever as high school grades have been increasing over time. Percentage of Students by Self-Reported High School GPA

Why is Predictive Validity important? Predictive Validity refers to the ability of a factor (e.g. test scores) to predict future performance. For colleges and universities, it is important to understand how well factors used for college admissions or placement predict desired academic outcomes – Factors (predictors) - typically include high school grades, SAT ® scores or class rank – Academic Outcomes – GPA, retention, course grades The measurement of how well predictors do is usually expressed as a correlation (from +1.0 to -1.0)

The SAT ® is a strong predictor of first year college performance Correlation* of SAT ® and High School GPA to First-Year College GPA Each section is a valid and strong predictor of college performance * Correlations corrected for restriction of range Source: Patterson, B.; Mattern, K.; Kobrin, J.; Validity of the SAT for Predicting FYGPA: 2007 SAT Validity Sample; College Board, The combined SAT predicts as well as high school GPA The SAT in combination with HSGPA is the best predictor of college performance The SAT continues to predict just as well as high school grades. When used together, grades and SAT scores are the best predictors of college performance

What does a correlation of.56 mean? The SAT ® provides a meaningful prediction of how students will perform in their first year of college. SAT Scores: Mathematics + Critical Reading + Writing 9 Source: Patterson, B.; Mattern, K.; Kobrin, J.; Validity of the SAT for Predicting FYGPA: 2007 SAT Validity Sample; College Board, 2011

The SAT ® continues to predict college outcomes through students’ 2 nd and 3 rd years The relationship between SAT scores and cumulative GPA remains strong and consistent as students progress through their college career. 10 Percent of Students Earning a 2 nd Yr and 3 rd Yr Cum GPA of a B or Higher by SAT Score Band Source: Patterson, B.; Mattern, K.; Kobrin, J.; Validity of the SAT for Predicting Second-Year Grades: 2006 SAT Validity Sample; College Board, 2011; Patterson, B.; Mattern, K.; Kobrin, J.; Validity of the SAT for Predicting Third-Year Grades: 2006 SAT Validity Sample; College Board, 2011;

College Retention As SAT ® scores increase, so does the likelihood of a student returning for the second and third year of college. 11 Source: Patterson, B.; Mattern, K.; The Relationship between SAT Scores and Retention to the Second Year: 2007 SAT Validity Sample; College Board, 2011; Patterson, B.; Mattern, K.; The Relationship between SAT Scores and Retention to the Third Year: 2006 SAT Validity Sample; College Board, 2011

SAT ® score performance does vary by sub-group The existence of score gaps amongst different groups does not necessarily indicate that the assessment is unfair or biased. 12 Source: 2011 College-Bound Seniors

The achievement gap exists among many measures of academic achievement and attainment 13 Sources: 2011 College-Bound Seniors; U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, High School Transcript Study (HSTS), various years, 1990–2009. National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, 2009; U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey (ACS) % - Percent of population age with a high school credential, 2006 Average CR+M+W Average GPA Academic Achievement Academic Attainment % National three-year graduation rates of bachelor's degree-seeking students, 2007 Unfortunately, inequities in American society and education exist as evidenced by multiple academic measures

The SAT ® holds as a valid predictor of college performance by all sub-groups 14 Correlation* of SAT ® and High School GPA to First-Year College GPA by Race/Ethnicity When we evaluate the predictive validity of the SAT by racial/ethnic sub- groups we see that SAT continues to be a strong and valid predictor of college performance, in most cases even more so than high school GPA RACE/ETHNICITYSAT (CR+M+W) HSGPASAT+HSGPA American Indian Asian American African American Hispanic White Total The SAT in combination with HSGPA remains the best predictor of college performance across all sub-groups

Extensive external research confirms that the SAT ® is not biased 15 There is a substantial body of literature indicating that individual item bias has been largely mitigated in today’s admission test due to extensive external research and development of question items on both the SAT and ACT ®. -NACAC Testing Commission Report -September 2008

Each section score is reported on a 200- to 800- point scale, each section is an independently valid predictor of college success. The Writing sub-score is a combination of a multiple-choice score from (70%) and an essay score from 2 to 12 (30%) Each essay is independently graded by two qualified readers The SAT is designed so that a student who answers about half of the questions correctly will receive an average score or approximately 500. Scores on any standardized assessment are approximations rather than precise measures of skill. The standard error of measure (SEM) of the SAT usually falls in a range of 30 points for reading and mathematics and 40 points for writing above or below a student’s true skill level. When comparing scores there must be a difference of points before more skill can be assumed in one area than another. Interpreting SAT Scores 16

Comparing SAT ® and ACT ® scores 17 The ACT and SAT are scored on different scales The concordance table provides a way for individuals and institutions to compare a student’s performance on one exam with their likely performance on a second exam Comparing percentiles is not accurate because the pools of students taking the two tests are different Note: The concordance table is based on scores from over 300k students who took both versions of the tests with writing from the Class of 2006

Validity Appendix The Validity of the SAT for Predicting Cumulative Grade Point Average by College Major Emily J. Shaw, Jennifer L. Kobrin, Brian F. Patterson, Krista D. Mattern; Research Report, Info To Go™ The Relationship Between SAT Scores and Retention to the Second Year: Replication with the 2009 SAT Validity Sample Krista D. Mattern, Brian F. Patterson; Statistical Reports Validity of the SAT for Predicting First-Year Grades 2009 SAT Validity Sample Brian F. Patterson, Krista D. Mattern; Statistical Reports Validity of the SAT for Predicting Fourth-Year Grades: 2006 SAT Validity Sample Krista D. Mattern, Brian F. Patterson; Statistical Reports The Relationship Between SAT Scores and Retention to the Fourth Year: 2006 SAT Validity Sample Krista D. Mattern, Brian F. Patterson; Statistical Reports 18

Contact Information Ken Woods Executive Director, Higher Education Western Region (408) Terry Whitney Director, State Government Relations Western Region (202)