Two methods of showing the ability of high school grades (high school grade point averages) and SAT scores to predict cumulative grades in different types of college courses were evaluated in a sample of 26 colleges. Each college contributed data from three cohorts of entering freshmen, and each cohort was followed for at least four years.…

The ability of high school grades (grade point average) and SAT® scores to predict cumulative grades in different types of college courses was evaluated in a sample of 26 colleges. Appended are: (1) Sample Sizes, Means, and Standard Deviations for Subgroups Defined by Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and Course Type; and (2) Prediction of Cumulative GPA by…

The impact of revisions in the content of the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and changes in the score scale on the predictive validity of the SAT were examined. Predictions of freshman grade-point average (FGPA) for the entering class of 1994 (who had taken the old SAT) were compared with predictions for the class of 1995 (who had taken the new…

A variety of techniques was used to assess the validity of the Descriptive Tests of Mathematics Skills (DTMS) for making placement decisions. The DTMS is a group of four tests (Arthmetic Skills, Elementary Algebra Skills, Intermediate Algebra Skills, and Functions & Graphs) that was designed to help colleges place each admitted student in the…

Correlation of the Scholastic Assessment Test I: Reasoning Test (SAT I) scores and high school grade point average (HSGPA) with freshman grade point average (FGPA) were studied in a sample of 23 colleges. The SAT I predicts FGPA about equally well across different ethnic groups. Correlation of the SAT I and the composite of SAT I scores and HSGPA…

If it can be shown that the Scholastic Aptitude Test mathematics test (SAT-M) is a reasonably good predictor of success in particular mathematics courses, it may have a role as a measure of prerequisite skills. The predictive validity of the SAT-M was studied by collecting grades from freshman mathematics courses at 10 colleges (3,499 students).…

This study at 21 colleges found that having entering freshmen write a short holistically scored essay added nothing to the prediction of freshman grade point average compared to predictions made from high school grade point average, Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, and a multiple-choice test of writing-related skills. (Author/DB)

Using data from a sample of 10 colleges at which most students had taken both SAT I: Reasoning Test and SAT II: Subject Tests, the authors simulated the effects of making selection decisions using SAT II scores in place of SAT I scores. Specifically, they treated the students in each college as forming the applicant pool for a more select college,…

Grades in college freshman English composition courses were predicted from high school rank in class, multiple-choice writing scores, essays, current Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) Verbal scores, and scores from a revised version of the SAT-Verbal. Data were obtained from 21 English courses at 17 different colleges with some supplementary data…

A reanalysis of the data considered by H. Wainer and L. Steinberg (1992) shows that a more appropriate composite indicator made up of Scholastic Aptitude Test mathematics score and high school grade point average demonstrates minuscule gender differences for both calculus and precalculus courses. (SLD)

Although a number of large-scale studies have demonstrated an increase in predictive validity when SAT® scores are added to high school grades, this increment is often described in terms of a seemingly very small increase in explained variance. This may have led to the erroneous belief among test critics and others that students with low SAT…

Examination of the correlation between multiple-choice and essay portions of the College Board Advanced Placement (AP) examinations with grades of first-year students from 32 colleges (largest sample=6,243) shows the best correlation for multiple choice tests for 2 examinations, with multiple choice and essay performing nearly equally for the…

The Advanced Placement Program reports grades to students and colleges on a 1 to 5 point scale derived from combining the separate scores on the multiple-choice and free-response sections of Advanced Placement Examinations (ADPEs). In this study, predictions of grades in first-semester college biology courses were made based on students' separate…

Essay and multiple-choice scores from Advanced Placement (AP) examinations in American History, European History, English Language and Composition, and Biology were matched with freshman grades in a sample of 32 colleges. Multiple-choice scores from the American History and Biology examinations were superior to essays for predicting overall grade…