The Debate about Using the SAT in College Admissions

Volume 9 / Issue 2 / Winter 2009

Editor's note, winter 2009: The SAT has changed quite a bit since this article was originally published. In March of 2005, the College Board overhauled the SAT. The bigger changes include:

>> Three primary components: Math, Writing, and Critical Reading, each using the traditional SAT scoring model of up to 800 points.

>> Analogies are no longer part of the test.

>> Total test time is now between four-and-a-half and five hours. The Math section is 70 minutes (two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section), Critical Reading is 70 minutes (two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section, and the Writing test is 60 minutes (25 minutes for the essay and 35 minutes for multiple choice questions).

At its outset, many colleges were not sure how to treat the new writing section and did not use it as a primary admission criterion, relying on the traditional 1600 point model. A common reason given for this hesitancy is wanting to be able to see how students perform in college, so that universities can see how scores on the Writing section predict subsequent college performance. Additionally, many have noted that an essay written in 25 minutes on a Saturday does not correspond with the types of writing students are required to perform in college.

Recent research conducted at the University of Georgia on its students’ SAT scores shows that the new SAT does not predict first year college performance all that much better than the old SAT. They found that each 100-point increase on the SAT Writing test lead, on average, to first year GPAs rising 0.07 points and grades in freshman English courses rising 0.18 points. Moreover, the Writing test largely predicts the same performance as the Critical Reading test.

In the winter of 2009, it was announced its Score Choice option that allows students who take the SAT multiple times to select which scores they wanted to submit with their applications. Previously, all student scores were reported. Under the change, students can omit scores from dates they wish to remain private. However, Score Choice is only an option at schools that choose to participate. Some colleges are choosing to require all SAT scores from applicants. Applicants should check the admissions website of each school being considered for how that school’s policies work. Students who have taken the ACT multiple times are able to select the scores from any of their test dates they would like to be submitted.

A debate is brewing over the use of the SAT I for college admissions. Richard C. Atkinson, a well-known psychologist and president of the University of California system, is leading the attack. He contends that the SAT I is a poor gauge for predicting college success and is “compromising our educational system.”

Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board, which publishes the SAT, counters that the SAT I is “not a high-stakes test” but is a useful admissions tool when considered along with other evidence of a student’s potential for college success.

We know that the SAT I is not a good measure of mastery of the overall high school curriculum. The SAT II tests (previously called Achievement Tests) are designed to measure mastery in subjects including biology, American history, Spanish, and English literature. The SAT I is also not an indicator of innate intelligence. Indeed, no psychological test can measure innate intelligence without taking into account the inseparable influences of schooling and environment. There are tests specifically designed to measure intelligence, but the SAT I is not one of them.

The SAT I measures verbal and mathematical skills that are important for college success; as such, it furnishes colleges with a relatively easy and inexpensive way to acquire information about students’ abilities in these areas. Colleges also respect the SAT I because it provides a yardstick with which to compare applicants from different high schools and communities.

Thirty years ago the SAT and the student’s GPA were the primary criteria that college admissions committees considered. Today, at such highly competitive schools as Harvard, Princeton, Duke, and Stanford Universities, high SAT I scores and GPAs won’t ensure admission—and they shouldn’t. Admissions committees now consider multiple sources of evidence in support of a student’s application. While a low SAT I score may be an obstacle to admission, it can be overcome by compelling evidence elsewhere in the student’s portfolio.

Notwithstanding Atkinson’s attack, the SAT I probably will continue to figure prominently in the admissions process at the great majority of American colleges. At the same time, it is likely that over the next few years the College Board will substantially revise it. The University of California system is simply too large a customer for the College Board to ignore. Although it is impossible to say what the new SAT I will look like, it is a safe bet that it will be a more accurate measure of the high school curriculum.

—Steven I. Pfeiffer, Ph.D.