A study released today couldn’t have made the executives at the College Board happy although they put on their game face when discussing the results.
Research indicates that the “improved” SAT test doesn’t predict college success anymore than the old version did. Three years ago, the College Board added a writing section to the SAT, which was already testing teenagers on their math and reading abilities. The new study also concluded that a student’s grade point average is a slightly better predictor of whether a teenager will succeed in his or her first year of college.
The College Board added the writing section after the president of the University of California system threatened in 2001 to ditch the test as an admission requirement. If he had followed through on his threat it could have saved millions of teenagers a lot of unnecessary grief.
Here’s the story.