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Population Validity and College Entrance Measures SAT

Author(s):
Breland, Hunter M.
Publication Year:
1978
Report Number:
RB-78-19
Source:
ETS Research Bulletin
Document Type:
Report
Page Count:
164
Subject/Key Words:
Academic Achievement, Admission Criteria, Higher Education, Literature Reviews, Predictive Validity, Racial Differences, SAT, Statistical Analysis

Abstract

This report reviews and summarizes the data of published reports and papers pertaining to the validity of measures commonly used at college entrance. These measures consist of various types of quantitative indices used to describe the high school record and various types of academic tests. The data were categorized by sex and ethnic classifications where possible and comparisons were made. Both the high school record and standardized academic tests appear to be generally useful at college entrance. For Anglo populations, the high school record usually yields slightly higher predictive correlations. For Black populations (except Black females), however, the data suggest no superiority of the high school record as a predictor of college performance. For recent years, correlations for Black samples tended to be slightly lower than those for Anglo samples. Data from a number of studies show that the college performance of Black populations, male and female, have been consistently overpredicted by the traditional academic predictors (the high school record and standardized test scores) when predictions are based on data from White or predominantly White samples. In contrast, published data show women to be consistently under predicted by the traditional predictors when predictions are based on data from male or predominantly male samples.

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