Should Colleges Dump SATS? Annotated Bibliography Example

The below annotated bibliography is designed to review literature related to the question: “Should colleges dump SATS?” By researching related publication, the author is attempting to provide a full overview of the debate related to the question, and research details published by academic journals.

Barro, Robert. Why Colleges Shouldn’t Dump the Sat. Economic Viewpoint. Business Week, April 9, 2001. Print.

In his article, Barro lines up several reasons why SATs are beneficial for both students and colleges. Reflecting on the proposal of Richard Atkinson, the president of the University of California, to eliminate SATs, he states that even today, it is the most effective way of measuring knowledge and cognitive skills. Lining up and reflecting upon different arguments that call for the abolition of SATS, he states that SATs are the best way of predicting college grades, while he denies that they would be biased against women or ethnic minority groups. Indeed, he states that the knowledge and performance differences among different social, gender, and ethnic groups exist, and are not influenced by the testing system. Further, the author concludes that SAT performance is an effective tool to predict not only future grades, but also wages as a graduate. He argues that by measuring academic abilities using SATs, colleges are able to recruit the best students that will be the most likely to achieve success, independent of their race or gender. The above statement, however, is not confirmed by research studies based on a large enough sample. While SATs are designed to make college admission more democratic, there is no research evidence that they actually do.

Kobrin, Jennifer and Michell, Rochelle. The SAT As a Predictor of Different Levels of College Performance. The College Board, New York, 2006. Web.

Kobrin and Michel also state that using SATs is a reliable and punctual predictor of college performance, therefore, they should be maintained as a standard measurement system in colleges. Researching 30 different colleges’ historical SAT results and students’ performance, the authors found that college admission tests are effective ways of selecting the most able students. The hypothesis the authors examined was whether SATs are valid measurements  “for predicting various levels of student success in college, as measured by FGPAs” (Kobrin and Michel, 1)

Focusing on the accuracy of SATs predicting success of failure to reach target achievement levels, the authors stated that SATs had a slightly higher accuracy level in predicting college performance than HSGPA, when predicting success. However, for predicting the performance of unsuccessful group, HSGPA was found more effective as a measurement. Indeed, this finding highlights some of the limitations of the testing method used as standard by most of the colleges in America. Therefore, the finding of the research confirms that while SATs are able to predict performance at the two highest level of success groups (FGPA>3.5), and this is true for all ethnic groups. This finding also brings forth the conclusion that the system of SATs is not racially biased; it predicts scores equally for all students, even though its predictive power among “other” racial groups was limited.

Cornwell, Cristopher, Mustard, David, and Van Parys, Jessica. How Does the New SAT Predict Academic Achievement in College? Working Paper. University of Georgia. 2008. Web.

The authors start their argument with the statement that standardized tests have an important role in the United States college admission system. Today, around 90 percent of colleges require either SAT or ACT admission tests. While the scores are used alongside with high school grades, they are there for creating a democracy in the admission process. SAT scores are able to eliminate patronage and nepotism. The introduction of SATW (writing assessment) – according to the authors – has added to the test’s predictive power. The authors found that SATW was more powerful in predicting future performance than SATV or SATM in the University of Georgia.

Examining a sample of 4998 students enrolled to the University of Georgia, finishing the first year in 2007, the authors created a unique measure for academic success. Using an empirical model, the authors came to the following findings:

High school GPA was correlated to college GPA, therefore, it was right to use the scores in the admission process. Further, the correlation between SAT scores and “closely related” college course performance was noted in the study. The use of SATW scores were justified as they were proven to be predicting academic outcomes. SATW scores were more effective in predicting academic achievement than SATM and SATS. The final conclusion of the study confirmed the strong predictive power of SAT tests in colleges.

Epstein, Jonathan. Behind the SAT-Optional Movement: Context and Controversy. Journal of College Admission. Summer 2009. Print.

Epstein analyzes the issue from a historical perspective. The first University to adapt the testing system was the University of California in 1968. Previously called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, in the 1990-s, a new acronym was created for the test: Scholastic Assessment Test. Today, SAT is the main assessment method for all selective educational institutions. The author also states that the introduction of the test was motivated by the goal set by the education field to select students based on their abilities, instead of their social status. Epstein (2009) states that there is a need for scoring and assessment that is suitable for objectively assessing achievement of higher education institutions and students on an individual basis. In recent decades, however, the number of SAT-optional colleges has risen to 75. This creates an inequality among colleges. Indeed, without a common, objective measurement that assesses the performance of the college and the quality of education, potential students and their parents will face a hard task selecting the right college or university. Featuring some case studies in the educational field, the author mentions the success of Bates College with introducing optional SATs. The leadership of the college stated that SATs were not predictive measures, However, the declining performance of Providence College suggests that introducing SAT optional policies can have a negative impact on later scores.

One of the strongest arguments the author makes is that when some colleges make SATs optional, it creates inconsistency in higher education. Quoting Diver, the author summarizes: “Once you begin to measure people based on what they deem important for you to review rather than what you think is important, the process becomes fragmented; partial. If you claim your review is holistic, then you must look at the whole”.

Wen, Jing, “Does the SAT Predict Academic Achievement And Academic Choices at Macalester College?” (2013). Honors Projects. Paper 28

Wen states that SATs have a predictive power in determining students’ future GPA. However, the author finds some discrepancies in relation with SAT scores and academic performance in Macalester. Indeed, quoting related literature, the author finds that several studies proved there is no close and direct correlation between high school grades, SATs and college achievement. Wen analyzed admission and performance data of 478 students due to graduate in 2012 from Macalester. He used sixteen different variables to measure performance and achievement. Using statistical analysis of scores and different variables, the author found that in the particular higher education institution, Macalester, SATs were not proven to be strong predictors of future grades. However, the analysis also concluded that ACT was more effective in predicting grades than SATs. While the two scores examined had some predictive power on students’ first year scores, they were unable to predict Year 4 scores and end results. Wan also created a review of SAT’s predictive power based on divisions of study. Verbal scores were more likely to predict major study performance than Math scores.

The National Association for College Admission Counseling. Report of the Commission on the Use of Standardized Tests in Undergraduate Admission. 2008. Web.

The recommendations of the association highlight several issues related to the effectiveness of standardized tests; among them SATs. The board recommends that standardized admission tests would be dropped, as it is not a successful selection criterion. Further, the authors state that the tests might not be necessary for making good decisions related to selecting the most appropriate students for undergraduate courses. The report states that introducing college- or course- specific testing that is more closely related to the area of study would deliver more reliable results than standardized testing on two or three areas of knowledge (general abilities). Just like achievements during college are linked closely to the subject of study, SAT admission tests should also be created to be relevant to the area. The authors also state that the impact of SAT preparation can disadvantage low income students who are unable to pay for coaching, while it increases the final admission score of more fortunate peers by up to 10-20 points. By high schools providing free, targeted training for disadvantaged, but highly capable students looking to apply for college, disparities can be reduced. Simply by making students familiar with the type of questions, situation, test environment, equality can be increased.

The recommendation white paper also states that several misuses of admission tests exist today in the United States that need to be eliminated. The advantage of affluent students is the greatest problem that needs to be tackled by the NACAC. Finally, the authors of the study state that “a substantial body of literature indicates that test bias has been largely mitigated in today’s admission tests” (The National Association for College Admission Counseling, 10). Questioning the predictive power of SAT tests, based on research of published studies, the white paper finds that over-predicting the first year performance of minority students, and under-predicting some female students’ achievement is a very important issue that suggests that SATs are ineffective in measuring college success. Standardized tests, according to the authors, are not the sole predictors of college success: college readiness, social status, motivation, and other aspects will influence future grades, as well.

The above study, based on evidence-based research states that the role of SATs in the college admission system should be reduced, and admission tests should be more closely related to the area of study in the course the student applies for.

Works Cited

Barro, Robert. Why Colleges Shouldn’t Dump the Sat. Economic Viewpoint. Business Week, April 9, 2001. Print

Cornwell, Cristopher, Mustard, David, and Van Parys, Jessica. How Does the New SAT  Predict Academic Achievement in College? Working Paper. University of Georgia. 2008. Web.

Epstein, Jonathan. Behind the SAT-Optional Movement: Context and Controversy. Journal of College Admission. Summer 2009. Print.

Kobrin, Jennifer and Michell, Rochelle. The SAT As a Predictor of Different Levels of College  Performance. The College Board, New York, 2006. Web.

The National Association for College Admission Counseling. Report of the Commission on the Use of Standardized Tests in Undergraduate Admission. 2008. Web.

Wen, Jing, “Does the SAT Predict Academic Achievement And Academic Choices at Macalester College?” (2013). Honors Projects.Paper 28