Validity of the SAT for Predicting First-Year College Grade Point Average

Validity of the SAT for Predicting First-Year College Grade Point Average

The study Validity of the SAT for Predicting First-Year College Grade Point Average, by Jennifer L. Kobrin, Brian F. Patterson, Emily J. Shaw, Krista D. Mattern, and Sandra M. Barbuti, sought to prove whether or not the changes made to the SAT in 2005 substantially changed how well the test predicts first-year college performance (Kobrin, Patterson, Shaq, Mattern, Barbuti, 1). The changes made to the SAT in 2005 include the renaming of the verbal section of the test the critical reading section, analogies were removed and replaced by questions on reading questions, more advanced mathematics questions were added as well as the addition of a writing section (1). The test was lengthened from three hours to three hours and forty-five minutes (1).

The study compared the single and multiple correlations of SAT scores, high school GPA and first year GPA (3). The study found that the SAT and high school GPA are related but measure different parts of achievement (5). The SAT-W was found to have the highest correlation to first year GPA. Overall, the study found that the revisions made to the SAT did not change how it predicts fist year college performance (6). The college board ultimately believes that the best combination of college performance is both SAT scores and high school GPA. They encourage college institutions to take both into consideration when making decisions.

While the The College Board believes that a combination of both the SAT and HSGPA is the best predictor of college success, Geiser and Santelices have a different opinion. In their study Validity if High-School Grades in Predicting Student Success Beyond the Freshman Year: High-School Records vs. Standarized Tests as indicators of Four-Year Outcomes, Saul Geiser and Santelices found that high school grade point average is the best predictor of four-year college success Geiser and Santelices, 1). While The College Board only focused on the first year of college, this study expands the scope to the whole college experience. As a matter of fact, Geiser and Santelices uncover that the predictive weight of high school GPA increases after the freshman year of college (1). This suggests that there could be a major flaw in the study by Korbin et al. Korbin et al did not consider all of the years of college and therefore may not have an accurate prediction of college success.

I believe that the SAT should be used in part by college admissions boards; I do not however, believe it is the only measure that should be considered. I think that the SAT is a good way to see each student’s English and math abilities, however, it does not show other subject that each student excels in, nor does it show what a hard worker a student is. In this way, I think that high school GPA and recommendation letters are a good way to even the playing field. I think that motivation and effort have a lot to do with each student’s first year grade point average. The good thing about standardized tests is that they are the same across the board, while high schools differ in levels of difficulty

When I was in high school, there was a boy in my classes who was incredibly smart. If my memory serves me correctly he scored around a 2,200 on the revised SAT. This boy, however, never did any homework and was often off-task in class. For this reason, he did not get into the amazing colleges we all thought he would. His high school grade point average told a very different story than his SAT scores. I do not believe that pure intelligence is enough; you need to have a balance of smarts and motivation to be successful in a college environment, and in life in general.

Geiser, S., & Santelices, M. (2007). Validity of High-School Grades in PredictingStudent Success Beyond The Freshman Year. Research & Occasional Paper Series, CSHE.6.07, 1-35.

Kobrin, J., Patterson, B., Shaw, E., Mattern, K., & Barbuti, S. (2008). Validity of the SAT for Predicting First-Year College Grade Point Average. College Board Research Report, No. 2008-5, 1-11.