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Substituting SAT II: Subject Test for SAT I: Reasoning Test--Impact on Admitted Class Composition and Quality SAT SAT I SAT II

Author(s):
Bridgeman, Brent; Burton, Nancy W.; Cline, Frederick
Publication Year:
2001
Report Number:
RR-01-07
Source:
ETS Research Report
Document Type:
Report
Page Count:
12
Subject/Key Words:
College Board, Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), Validity, Achievement Tests, Aptitude, College Admission, College Bound Students

Abstract

Using data from a sample of 10 colleges at which most students had taken both SAT I: Reasoning Tests and SAT II: Subject Tests, we simulated the effects of making selection decisions using SAT II scores in place of SAT I scores. Specifically, we treated the students in each college as forming the applicant pool for a more select college, and then selected the top two-thirds (and top one-third) of the students using high school grade point average (HSGPA) combined with either SAT I scores or the average of SAT II scores. Success rates, in terms of freshman grade point averages, were virtually identical for students selected by the different models. The percent of African American, Asian American, and White students selected varied only slightly across models. Appreciably more Mexican American and Other Latino students were selected with the model that used SAT II scores in place of SAT I scores because these students submitted Subject Test scores for the Spanish Test on which they had high scores.

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