Proficiency with written communication (WC) is critical for success in college and careers. As a result, institutions face a growing challenge to accurately evaluate their students' writing skills to obtain data that can support demands of accreditation, accountability, or curricular improvement. Many current standardized measures, however, lack…

It is so easy to criticize the SAT that most observers overlook the weaknesses of its architect, the College Board. This author contents that, until the latter is replaced, however, the former will never be fixed. The College Board has every incentive to create a complex, stressful, expensive college admissions system. Because it is accountable to…

Relational reasoning is the foundational cognitive ability to discern meaningful patterns within an informational stream, but its reliable and valid measurement remains problematic. In this investigation, the measurement of relational reasoning unfolded in three stages. Stage 1 entailed the establishment of a research-based conceptualization of…

Critical thinking is a learning outcome highly valued by higher education institutions and the workforce. The Educational Testing Service (ETS) has designed a next generation assessment, the HEIghten™ critical thinking assessment, to measure students' critical thinking skills in analytical and synthetic dimensions. This paper introduces the…

Presented at the national conference for the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in April 2009. This study examined the utility of scores on the SAT writing test, specifically examining the reliability of scores using generalizability and item response theories. The study also provides an overview of current predictive validity…

The focus of this report is to summarize the research that has been conducted thus far on the new SAT Writing section. The evidence provided reveals that the new writing section has satisfactory psychometric quality in that its reliability is acceptable; it is significantly related to first-year college GPA and college English grades; it has been…

The High School and Beyond study is a national large-scale longitudinal survey of a representative sample of approximately 58,000 high school students. Information was collected at various stages from 1980-1986, on over 1,500 variables including achievement in six different areas measured by a 126-item cognitive test. Previous analyses of the…

The reliability and validity of E. D. Hirsch's (1988) Cultural Literacy Test (CLT) was studied with 150 first-year college students at the University of St. Thomas in Houston (Texas). The test appears reliable, with a split-half reliability estimate of 0.93, and the cultural literacy construct and the CLT are valid. (SLD)

Compared with data from civilian institutions, data from two graduating classes at the United States Military Academy showed extrordinary stability of independently calculated grade point averages from freshman to senior years and no decline in the validity of Scholastic Aptitude Tests and high school class rank as predictors of these GPAs over…

The contribution of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) to education is described, and the most frequently asked questions about its use are addressed. The SAT became a prominent tool in college admissions when the members of the College Board recognized in the 1930's that the Board's program of very specific subject-matter tests was no longer…

The purpose of this paper is to document existing research on the test performance of handicapped people with respect to admissions and other similar tests. In addition, the psychometric characteristics of these tests when used with handicapped people are reported. Though much more data needs to be collected, several observations are made.…

The psychometric application of Joreskog's procedure for simultaneous factor analysis in several populations is illustrated. Using Scholastic Aptitude Test data from two samples, procedures are shown for checking test construction assumptions about units of measurement and error variance, within and between samples. (Author)

The fact that the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is susceptible to coaching does not mean it is a poor test. The abilities measured by it are acquired, apart from test-wiseness. Even though some uses of the scores in admissions may be discriminatory, the test itself is fair, uniform, and judiciously administered. (MSE)

Provides a general description of the aims of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and focuses on the reasons for the recent declines in verbal and math scores. Also notes the best sorts of preparation--both general academic and specific preparation--for achieving high SAT scores. (JW)

Evidence suggests that the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), in combination with high school grades, is a good predictor of college success for students from different ethnic groups and income levels. Although legislation stemming from the Nader investigation of the Educational Testing Service purports to protect consumers, it may actually work…