The Case Against the SAT
Every year, 1.5 million applicants to American colleges and universities take the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Over 1,500 colleges and universities either require or strongly recommend that applicants submit SAT scores. The College Entrance Examination Board and the Educational Testing Service claim that the SAT helps colleges select students, helps college-bound students select appropriate institutions, and furthers equality of opportunity. But does it really?

Drawing on three national surveys and on hundreds of studies conducted by colleges, James Crouse and Dale Trusheim refute the justifications the College Board and the ETS give for requiring high school students to take the SAT. They show that the test neither helps colleges and universities improve their admissions decisions nor helps applicants choose schools at which they will be successful. They outline the adverse effect the SAT has on students from nonwhite and low-income backgrounds. They also question the ability of the College Board and the ETS to monitor themselves adequately.

Crouse and Trusheim do not, however, recommend abolishing either college admissions testing or the College Board and the ETS. Rather, they propose dropping the SAT and relying on such already available measures as students' high school coursework and grades, and they raise the possibility that new achievement tests that measure the mastery of high school courses could be developed to replace the SAT. The Case Against the SAT provides important new information for policymakers, college and university administrators, and researchers in testing and measurement. It forces a rethinking not only of what admissions testing accomplishes now but also of what it might and should accomplish in the future.
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The Case Against the SAT
Every year, 1.5 million applicants to American colleges and universities take the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Over 1,500 colleges and universities either require or strongly recommend that applicants submit SAT scores. The College Entrance Examination Board and the Educational Testing Service claim that the SAT helps colleges select students, helps college-bound students select appropriate institutions, and furthers equality of opportunity. But does it really?

Drawing on three national surveys and on hundreds of studies conducted by colleges, James Crouse and Dale Trusheim refute the justifications the College Board and the ETS give for requiring high school students to take the SAT. They show that the test neither helps colleges and universities improve their admissions decisions nor helps applicants choose schools at which they will be successful. They outline the adverse effect the SAT has on students from nonwhite and low-income backgrounds. They also question the ability of the College Board and the ETS to monitor themselves adequately.

Crouse and Trusheim do not, however, recommend abolishing either college admissions testing or the College Board and the ETS. Rather, they propose dropping the SAT and relying on such already available measures as students' high school coursework and grades, and they raise the possibility that new achievement tests that measure the mastery of high school courses could be developed to replace the SAT. The Case Against the SAT provides important new information for policymakers, college and university administrators, and researchers in testing and measurement. It forces a rethinking not only of what admissions testing accomplishes now but also of what it might and should accomplish in the future.
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The Case Against the SAT

The Case Against the SAT

The Case Against the SAT

The Case Against the SAT

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Overview

Every year, 1.5 million applicants to American colleges and universities take the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Over 1,500 colleges and universities either require or strongly recommend that applicants submit SAT scores. The College Entrance Examination Board and the Educational Testing Service claim that the SAT helps colleges select students, helps college-bound students select appropriate institutions, and furthers equality of opportunity. But does it really?

Drawing on three national surveys and on hundreds of studies conducted by colleges, James Crouse and Dale Trusheim refute the justifications the College Board and the ETS give for requiring high school students to take the SAT. They show that the test neither helps colleges and universities improve their admissions decisions nor helps applicants choose schools at which they will be successful. They outline the adverse effect the SAT has on students from nonwhite and low-income backgrounds. They also question the ability of the College Board and the ETS to monitor themselves adequately.

Crouse and Trusheim do not, however, recommend abolishing either college admissions testing or the College Board and the ETS. Rather, they propose dropping the SAT and relying on such already available measures as students' high school coursework and grades, and they raise the possibility that new achievement tests that measure the mastery of high school courses could be developed to replace the SAT. The Case Against the SAT provides important new information for policymakers, college and university administrators, and researchers in testing and measurement. It forces a rethinking not only of what admissions testing accomplishes now but also of what it might and should accomplish in the future.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780226121420
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication date: 03/31/1988
Series: University of Chicago Sociological Ser.
Edition description: 1
Pages: 240
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

James Crouse is professor of educational studies and sociology at the University of Delaware. Dale Trusheim is assistant director of institutional research and strategic planning at the University of Delaware.

Table of Contents

List of Tables
Preface
1. Can We Trust ETS and the College Board to Monitor Themselves?
2. Overselling the SAT since 1926
3. The SAT Does Not Help Colleges Make Better Selection Decisions
4. The SAT Does Not Help Applicants Select Colleges Where They Can Be Successful
5. The SAT Has an Adverse Impact on Black Applicants
6. The SAT Has an Adverse Impact on Low-Income Applicants
7. The Effects of the SAT Have Not Changed since 1960
8. What Is to Be Done?
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index
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