Ensuring postsecondary readiness is a goal of K-12 education, but it is unclear whether high school students should get different messages about the required levels of academic preparation depending on their postsecondary trajectories. This study estimated readiness benchmark scores on a college admissions test predictive of earning good grades in…

The continued accumulation of validity evidence for the intended uses of educational assessments is critical to ensure that proper inferences will be made for those purposes. To that end, the College Board has continued to collect college outcome data to evaluate the relationship between SAT® scores and college success. This report provides…

The continued accumulation of validity evidence for the core uses of educational assessments is critical to ensure that proper inferences will be made for those core purposes. To that end, the College Board has continued to follow previous cohorts of college students and this report provides updated validity evidence for using the SAT to predict…

A recent report by Wyatt and Mattern (2011) compared college outcomes for low-socioeconomic status (low-SES) students who received Advanced Placement® (AP®) fee reductions versus low-SES students who did not participate in the AP Program. The results indicated that AP Fee Reduction students had better college outcomes than students from low-SES…

This study examined the validity of the SAT for predicting performance in first-year English and mathematics courses. Results reveal a significant positive relationship between SAT scores and course grades, with slightly higher correlations for mathematics courses compared to English courses. Correlations were estimated by student characteristics…

This report presents the validity of the SAT for predicting two second-year outcomes: (1) second-year cumulative GPA (2nd Yr Cum GPA), and (2) second-year grade point average (2nd Yr GPA). Similar to the results for first-year grade point average (1st Yr GPA), the SAT is strongly correlated with second year outcomes. For many significant…

The findings for the 2008 sample are largely consistent with the previous reports. SAT scores were found to be correlated with FYGPA (r = 0.54), with a magnitude similar to HSGPA (r = 0.56). The best set of predictors of FYGPA remains SAT scores and HSGPA (r = 0.63), as the addition of the SAT sections to the correlation of HSGPA alone with FYGPA…

The current study examined the validity of the selection process used for the National Merit Scholarship Program (NMSP) to identify scholarship winners. Namely, this study examined whether students who advanced to higher NMSP recognition levels (Commended Students, Semifinalists, and various levels of award winners) had higher college performance,…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between academic self-beliefs (i.e., self-efficacy and degree aspirations) with various academic outcomes. Based on previous findings, it was hypothesized that students with more positive academic self-beliefs would perform better in school. The results supported prior research as students…

This report presents the findings from a replication of the Kobrin et al. (2008) and Mattern et al. (2008) reports. Students who were missing at least one of the following were excluded from the analyses: SAT scores, a self-reported high school grade point average (HSGPA), and a valid first-year GPA (FYGPA); this resulted in a final sample size of…

This report presents the results of a large-scale national validity study of the SAT®. In March 2005, the College Board introduced a revised SAT, with an additional section in writing and minor changes in content to the verbal and mathematics sections. The first full cohort of students taking this test completed their first year of college in…

In an effort to continuously monitor the validity of the SAT for predicting first-year college grades, the College Board has continued its multi-year effort to recruit four-year colleges and universities (henceforth, "institutions") to provide data on the cohorts of first-time, first-year students entering in the fall semester beginning…

This report presents the validity of the SAT for predicting two third-year college outcomes: (1) third-year cumulative GPA (3rd Yr Cum GPA), and (2) third-year grade point average (3rd Yr GPA). Similar to the results for first- and second-year outcomes (1st Yr GPA, 2nd Yr GPA, 2nd Yr Cum GPA), the SAT is strongly correlated with third year…

The College Board formed a research consortium with four-year colleges and universities to build a national higher education database with the primary goal of validating the SAT®, which is used in college admission and consists of three sections: critical reading (SAT-CR), mathematics (SAT-M) and writing (SAT-W). This report builds on a body of…