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SAT Under Scrutiny Again: Scores Drop Further

SAT Under Scrutiny Again: Scores Drop Further
8/31/2007
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Scholarships.com Staff

College Board has been dealt another big blow. Just days after it was revealed they had bought their way into spots on preferred-lender lists, College Board announced a drop in SAT scores. College Board, a nonprofit organization that administers the SAT and AP tests, announced on August 28th that the average combined scores for 2007 graduates dropped by 1 point in critical reading and by 3 points in math and writing. Since 1967, average reading scores dropped by 41 points and math scores by 1 point (writing scores were not reported). College Board stressed the positive saying that more students, minorities in particular, were taking the test.

Earlier this year, the SAT was scrutinized after research released by the University of California revealed that the correlation between high school grades and SAT scores may not be as accurate as once thought. Although the test was a good indicator of first-year grades, the following three did not match up. Eventually, ambitious students adjusted to the University of California’s difficult curriculum, regardless of initial preparation.

The study was a continuation of a 2003 study which showed that SAT performance was better than GPA in predicting first-year college performance. Apparently, after catching up with the 80,000 students sampled, things had changed. In fact, findings showed that the longer students attended college, the greater the value in using high school grades as a means of predicting future performance. Such findings indicate that the strong correlation between SAT scores and socioeconomic factors is eventually watered down. The implications of this research are yet unclear. It is, however, becoming clear that the SAT may not be as good of an indicator of college performance as was once thought.

The question of whether the SAT & ACT tests should continue to be administered was one of two issues addressed in Scholarships.com’s annual Resolve to Evolve essay contest (the second dealt with the population’s effect on the environment.) To read what students had to say, you can visit the Scholarships.com 2007 Resolve to Evolve Award Winners page. To find sample questions and advice on preparing for standardized tests, you may visit the Resources section at Scholarships.com.

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