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Placement Validity of a Prototype SAT With an Essay SAT

Author(s):
Bridgeman, Brent; Hale, Gordon A.; Lewis, Charles; Pollack, Judith M.; Wang, Ming-mei
Publication Year:
1992
Report Number:
RR-92-28
Source:
ETS Research Report
Document Type:
Report
Page Count:
26
Subject/Key Words:
College Board, College English, College Mathematics, College Placement, Grade Prediction, Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), Test Validity, Writing Tests

Abstract

Grades in college freshman English composition courses were predicted from high school rank in class, multiple-choice writing scores, essays, current SAT-Verbal scores, and scores from a revised version of SAT-Verbal. Data were obtained from 21 English courses at 17 different colleges with some supplementary data provided by an additional college. In general, a writing composite score consisting of essay and multiple-choice writing scores appeared to outperform current or revised SAT-Verbal scores; validity coefficients were as high or higher for the writing composite score, and the underprediction of the grades of women students was reduced. The best predictions were obtained from the combination of high school rank with the writing composite score. (26pp.)

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