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Use of the Scholastic Aptitude Test
Term Paper ID:27132
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Essay Subject:
Reviews the literature on the development & use of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Examines questions of the test's validity & appropriateness.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Reviews the literature on the development & use of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Examines questions of the test's validity & appropriateness.
Paper Introduction:
Use of the Scholastic Aptitude Test
Review of the Literature
At the present time, over 90 percent of all American colleges and universities require applicants to take the Scholastic Aptitude Test and submit results of that test in order to gain admission. Approximately 1.7 million students take this test each year. However, the test has been questioned by many groups in terms of validity and appropriateness. How was this test developed and how appropriate is it as a measure of student aptitude for higher education?
SAT Development
There were a number of agencies interested in measuring intelligence during the period between World War I and World War
Text of the Paper:
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In other words, language use does not conform to patterns oflanguage use among the mainstream population of European-Americans.Ramirez (1995) reported increases in the verbal test scores of thispopulation, but in the context of long-standing deficiencies in both partsof the test. Women, minorities and persons with disabilities in science andengineering: 1994. (198 ). In addition, there is a new type of question included in themath part, in which students must grid-in their responses. According to Weiss (1989), theETS has frequently attempted to claim that the SAT measures both the likelyacademic achievement of students and the natural ability of those students. When all factors are taken intoaccount, girls still tend to be underrepresented at the top levels of theSAT, and are disfavored in terms of both high school grades and collegeachievement. The CollegeEntrance Examination Board merged with other agencies to form theEducational Testing Service, which still manages the SAT at the presenttime. Again, the contention has been that the SAT does notmeasure scholastic aptitude per se, or predict college freshman grades orsuccess in college coursework, but the ability of the student to conform tothe model represented by mainstream, middle-class European-Americanculture. (1993). Brigham developed the first Scholastic Aptitude Test in the early192 s, working with the College Entrance Examination Board. However, the test has beenquestioned by many groups in terms of validity and appropriateness. Elert, G. He believed that the United States was beingdamaged by its diversity and thought that Jews, Catholics, EasternEuropeans and others were of less intelligence than other ethnic groups inthe country (Brigham, 1923). The larger studywas designed to look at the status of women, minorities, and persons withdisabilities in both the science and engineering fields. Aizawa takes a pat as SAT verbal scores rise,Honolulu Advertiser, September, 1995. The reign of ETS: The corporation thatmakes up minds. Theresearchers indicated that this could account for females beingunderrepresented at the top range of the math scale (1995). Crouse, J. Special supplement to the College Board News. The SAT - Aptitude or demographics. And Crouse, J. This seems to be borne out by a major study conducted by the QuantumResearch Corporation for the National Science Foundation. He wanted to design a testthat would identify superior intelligence (which he equated with superiorgenetic, ethnic stock) and reward those individuals. Forexample, in Feistritzer (1993), statistics indicate that there is acorrelation between lower SAT average SAT scores and the percent ofminority students in a state. It is three hours longand divided into six sections comprising verbal and mathematical testing. Further, the CEEB indicated that the purpose of the SAT I aspect ofthe exam is to predict how well students will do in college, and morespecifically predict freshman grades in order to help admissions officersmake better decisions (Introducing the new..., 1993). And Trusheim, D. The SAT evaluation system flags those students whoseem likely to have cheated and disallows their test results. He was particularly worried about the impactof Blacks on the genetic pool of intelligence. Brigham, C.C. Results over the next severalyears need to be examined to see if this revision is helpful in improvingopportunities for disabled students.Conclusion In looking at the literature, there seems to be little justificationfor the widespread use of the SAT as an admissions and placement tool.There is, however, considerable support for the critics who charge that theSAT is biased at many levels, including on the basis of gender, race,class, language, and disability. In other words, grade rank would probably be sufficientin most instances, and could be combined with other characteristics to givesimilar, and equally valid (or invalid) results in predicting freshmangrade point average. This is at leastpartly in response to critiques of the test as unfairly working againstthose with mild learning disabilities (Smith, 1994). In addition, students are providedwith a percentile score that lets them know how they compare to otherstudents (Introducing the new..., 1993). And Porter, D. For example, six of the top ten states interms of minority population rank in the bottom ten in terms of average SATscores. Although the SATappears to have little predictive value anyway, it has even less predictivevalue in terms of women's grades than it does in terms of men's grades ascollege freshmen. In discussing the newest SAT version, the College EntranceExamination Board (CEEB) indicated that the purpose of the SAT is topredict how well the individual student will do academically in his or herfreshman year (Introducing the new..., 1993). In addition, parental income and parental education were associatedwith higher SAT scores, lending credence to critics claims that the test isbiased on the basis of class and economics. Washington, D.C.:National Science Foundation. There is only one exception tothis, in that Asian students at the lowest family income levels stillexceeded students at almost all the other highest family income levels forother ethnic and racial groups. Nairn, Allan et al. (1993). The SAT: A critical appraisal.Harvard Educational Review, 5 , 154-175. There are even more localized results in terms of ethnicity of race.For example, there is evidence of lower test scores among ethnic Hawaiianstudents, particularly on the verbal measures. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 29, 363-378. (1993). There are a number of factors that could influence these test results,of course, and the researchers explored most of them. Based on itsown predictive models, the ETS challenges those students who obtain scoresthat it judges "too high." There have been some visible examples of this,particularly with college athletes attempting to obtain minimum scores forcollege eligibility. Gottfredson, L.S. (198 ). National Coalition forWomen and Girls in Education. However, there are still claims that it is biasedon the basis of income, race, gender, geography, language, and ethnicity. They noted, among otherthings, that early research seems to have misreported the figures on theSAT's predictive value. The first SAT was almost identical to the current SAT in format. They noted, for example, that research by Ford andCampos, which indicated accuracy ratings of between 8 and 15 percent forthe SAT, was actually on the high end. Henderson (1992) reported that college freshmen with disabilitiestended to score lower on all aspects of the SAT than did their peerswithout disabilities. NY: CEEB. Scores are converted into a number by using the number of questionsanswered right minus a percentage of the questions answered wrong. In addition to the SAT I, the ETS provides for a number of achievementtests. The case against the SAT.Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. (1994). It is important to remember that the most significant claim that theCEEB makes regarding the SAT is that it has predictive value for freshmangrades. Princeton,NJ: Princeton University Press. One of the major changes in the current SAT is that more time has beenallowed for thinking during the administration of the test. That history included a consistent pattern of females scoring belowmales on both the mathematics and verbal portions of the SAT. (1993). European-Americans take the second most intensive coursework andperform at the second highest level, while the three groups mostunderrepresented in science and engineering careers take the leastcoursework before college and score at the lowest levels (Women,minorities, and persons..., 1995). The authors indicated that they believed the differential validitybased on sex was primarily political, rather than scientific. The CEEB obviously tried to address that problem, orat least the problem of mild learning disabilities, by providingopportunities for students to take untimed tests and by building in moretime for thinking to its standard test. Standing up to the SAT. Crouse and Trusheim (1988) further argued that even the minimalcorrelation of the SAT with freshman college grades, which is the claimedpurpose, does not support the widespread use of the SAT as any kind ofpredictor of college success. Feistritzer, C.C. Report card on American education.American Legislative Exchange Council, National Center for EducationInformation. It wasfirst offered in 1926, with two 3 -minute sections on vocabulary andreading comprehension, two 3 -minute sections on mathematics, and one 3 -minute section to provide for post-test and pre-test needs (Elert, 1997). Their study was a bidirectional study specifically exploring thevalidity of the math section of the SAT. Nairn (198 ) examined the utility of the SAT in predicting collegefreshman grades in combination with other variables. Smith, M.K. There are also longer reading passages and vocabulary-in-contextquestions. Repugnant is to aversion... College Entrance Examination Board.NY: CEEB. College Bound Seniors, 1993 SAT Profile, Profile of SAT, andAchievement Test Takers. How does the SAT score for women? It has attempted to address accusations of bias by revising the test tomake it more objective. The SAT seems equally problematic when applied to minority groups andthose with disabilities. What it seems most to represent is the courseworktaken by students in high school, more than the grades that they are likelyto achieve during college freshman classes. Interestingly enough, its origins seemdesigned to select for the best and the brightest within the European-American mainstream. This is at the same timethat it was attempting to revise its tests in response to a long history ofbias racially and in terms of gender. Even more critiques have been made of gender differences in the SAT onthe math part of the SAT. Despite problems with validity, and charges of bias, the ETS alsopresumes to identify students who are cheating on the test. College Entrance Examination Board.Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service. (1992).Milwaukee Journal, April 3 , p. (1986). Otherwise, there was a direct correlationbetween increased income, increased education, and higher average SATscores (Women, minorities, and persons..., 1995). Phi Delta Kappan, 75(1 ), 752-758. They do not, at the present time, assert that the SAT helpspredict who will graduate from college or what their grade point averagewill be at the end of their college career. Equating all subsequent tests with the 1941 testseems to be problematic, fixing the test standards according to a biasedoriginal model. Ithad two parts, with emphases on verbal and mathematical skills. Thescore is then converted into a scaled score between 2 and 8 using astatistical process called equating. These achievement tests also influence college placement, and insome instances, college acceptance depending upon the school and the courseof study chosen. A study of American intelligence. Students soidentified are required to take the test over again, either with the basicSAT I or the achievement tests (Academic dragnet..., 1992).SAT Validity There have been a number of criticisms of the SAT based on accusationsof bias, either toward minorities or women. In other words, the ultimatecomparison is to that primarily white, male group that Brigham sought toidentify and reward through his development of the SAT. They notedthat similar biases based on race and language have been identified in theliterature, and that the SAT has not been successful in addressing thesebiases in its modifications of the SAT and the achievement tests. Introducing the new SAT. For example, Wainer and Steiberg (1996) lookedat sex differences in performance on the mathematics section of the SAT. Their study looked both at theperformance of men and women on the SAT math section and at the performanceof men and women in a freshman math course. (1988). Use of the Scholastic Aptitude Test Review of the Literature At the present time, over 9 percent of all American colleges anduniversities require applicants to take the Scholastic Aptitude Test andsubmit results of that test in order to gain admission. This also provides both studentsand admissions officers with a tool for comparing their scores to those ofstudents attending the desired college or university. The SAT itself indicated that with its new testing program,beginning in 1994, it hoped not only to predict college grades, but toinfluence college placement and reinforce the growth and change in highschool curricula (Introducing the new..., 1993). (199 ). Within that, theresearchers explored the influence of the SAT I and the achievement (Women,minorities, and persons..., 1995). Approximately 1.7million students take this test each year. There have been fewerinstances of public criticism of the fundamental purpose of the SAT and itsvalidity as a testing instrument. There are a number of ways of looking at this statistically. Internet. College EntranceExamination Board. Their interestswere not always altruistic. (1989). They correspondingly perform better than all other racial/ethnicgroups. References Academic dragnet: SAT cheaters likely to get caught. Washington, D.C.: National Coalition forWomen and Girls in Education. Ramirez, T. Slack and Porter (198 ) looked at many of the earlier tests dealingwith the reliability and validity of the SAT. The area in which SAT has its major influence is in the transition tohigher education. It is still atimed test, but the time allowed has been expanded. They noted that 9 percent of the decisions to admitstudent would be the same whether the SAT was used in conjunction with thegrade rank or not. This is thought to be theresult of cultural differences in language use for members of thatpopulation. Diversity and change: The new SAT. A2. Validity versus utility ofmental tests: Example of the SAT. It is at this point that the SAT performs its functionof influencing where students enroll and influencing their major areas ofstudy. Weiss, J. Indeed, the originator of the ScholasticAptitude Test sought to design an intelligence measure that would identifysuperior racial stock. (1923). The National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education indicated thatthere is across-the-board indication that the SAT is biased on the basis ofgender (How does the SAT score..., 199 ). (1995). He concluded that theSAT did improve prediction, but only by an average of 5 percent or less.In other words, adding the information from the SAT does not giveadmissions officers much more usable information to determine howapplicants will do grade-wise during their first year. During the period between 1926 and 1941, the SAT underwent numerousadjustments designed to create an average score of approximately 5 .After 1941, scores were standardized and the experimental section of theSAT served to ensure that all versions of the test since that time areequated to each other (Nairn, 198 ).Purpose and Current Organization The purpose of the SAT has not changed, although the organization hasbeen revised. Quantum Research Corporation. NY: ARCO. In other words, the SAT does not measure the scholasticaptitude of girls in the same way as that of boys. In general,though, the SAT remains the same as the old SAT. (1997). Indeed, Gottfredson and Crouse (1986) indicated that the SAT is mildlycorrelated with high school grade rank, and that it does not provide verymuch new information. The study indicated that SAT-Mdisfavored the women in that women tended to perform less well than men onthe SAT-M measure, while at the same time performing as well as the men infreshman math courses. Howwas this test developed and how appropriate is it as a measure of studentaptitude for higher education?SAT Development There were a number of agencies interested in measuring intelligenceduring the period between World War I and World War II. However, there is evidence that theprimary stated purpose of the SAT is not reliably met by the test itself. Achievement tests are available in a wide range offields, including mathematics I and II, biology, chemistry, and physics(Diversity and change..., 1993). Still, even with that narrowpurpose, there is little indication of the utility of SAT taken by itself. For example, Asians take the most intensive coursework in math andsciences. For example, alarger percentage of males did tend take intensive concentration in mathcoursework, with 15 percent of males taking more than 4 years of highschool math and only 11 percent of females reporting those figures. In recalculating the figures forthe predictive value of the verbal test, math test, and high school record,Slack and Porter found out that the SAT was actually less accurate thanFord and Campos had indicated, while the high school record had betterpredictive value than they had reported, and significantly betterpredictive value than the SAT (Slack and Porter, 198 ). Slack, W.V. (1995). The new organization includes most of the sections of the old SAT,although the antonym section in the verbal part of the old SAT was dropped. There are much better indicators of that,including high school grades and coursework.Bias and the SAT According to Elert (1997), the SAT is not a measure of how successfulan individual will be in college, but a measure of how well that individualconforms to the demographics of the group that performed well on theoriginal exam developed by Carl Brigham. The most recent critique of the SAT has been on behalf of studentswith disabilities, particularly those students who have some form oflearning disability. This historyexisted even though females also had the history of doing as well as malesin high school in coursework and having even better grades in college thanmales (Women, minorities, and persons..., 1995). Is this an accurate critique of the test, particularly after all theseyears and all the various modifications? Washington, D.C.: Ralph Nader institute. A look at ETS andthe new SAT I.
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