SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test)

The SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) is one of the most commonly used standardized college placement tests in the United States. The College Board, developer of the SAT, reports that nearly 2 million students take the test each year. The SAT is typically taken by college aspirants during the junior or senior year of high school. Examinees may register, at cost, to take the SAT Reasoning test and/or one or more of the SAT Subject tests. Most recently revised in 2005, the SAT Reasoning test yields two scores (Critical Reading and Mathematics) that are usually added together to yield a decision score, along with a Writing score. College and university officials use this decision score, along with other student profile data (e.g., high school grade-point averages [GPAs], writing samples, interviews, letters of recommendation) when making admission decisions. Some postsec-ondary institutions also require or accept SAT Subject test scores. The College Board offers 20 different subject tests in five categoriesEnglish, history, mathematics, science, and languages.

SAT Critical Reading, Mathematics, Writing, and Subject tests are each scored on a standardized metric where μ = 500 and σ = 100; thus, the [Page 757]decision score (combined Critical Reading and Mathematics scores) is standardized with a mean of 1,000 and a standard deviation of 200, and scores range from 400 to 1,600. This standardized metric makes scores easy for students and college officials to understand and interpret.

The SAT is administered on established testing dates at hundreds of group-testing sites in the United States and abroad, most of which are located at secondary or postsecondary institutions. The SAT Reasoning test is divided into 10 sections. Sections range in administration time from 10 to 25 minutes for a total testing time of 225 minutes (exclusive of time for examinee check-in, coding of personal information, and other logistical procedures). SAT Subject tests take one hour to complete, and examinees may take up to three subject area tests in a single testing day.

A plethora of research has been conducted on the predictive validity of SAT scores. Studies typically indicate that test preparation activities such as practice testing and coaching tend to increase SAT scores. Low-to-moderate positive correlations have typically been found among SAT scores, high school grade-point averages, and various college success indicators (e.g., GPA, persistence to attainment of degree), with correlations lower for minority than for White students. Males tend to score better on SAT Reasoning, and English-as-first-language students tend to outscore language minority students. SAT Critical Reading and Mathematics scores tend to underpredict success of female students and overpredict success of language minority students. High school GPAs routinely outperform SAT scores in predicting college GPAs; however the advantage of SAT is the added predictive ability (beyond high school GPA) it affords college officials. Although SAT scores moderately predict first year college GPAs, predictive accuracy of college GPA tends to diminish as students move further in their college careers perhaps because of both attrition and differentiation in courses of study and grading policies across majors.

Despite its wide scale popularity, the SAT is not without its critics. Over the last decade, concerns about the length of the SAT Reasoning test, content biases for certain demographic subgroups (particularly minority and poor students), and College Board scoring errors have prompted many institutions to reconsider use of the SAT and other similar admissions tests resulting in SAT-optional admission policies, and in some cases, elimination of the SAT from consideration in admission decisions.

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