The New SAT - Predictions
The SAT is changing because two powerful men want it to: University of California system president Richard Atkinson and College Board president Gaston Caperton. But changes often bring unintended consequences.
For example, in
Atkinson's 2001 speech de-emphasizing SAT-! tests, he suggested more admissions emphasis on the "three SAT II subject tests in writing, mathematics and a third test of their choice." To gain an advantage for UC admissions, many Latinos began to add the SAT II test for Spanish in their admissions submission. Because they were fluent in Spanish, many did very well in the test, thus boosting their overall scores in UC's largely numerical admissions calculations. Berkeley, UCLA, and other UC schools were able to increase their percentage of Latinos admitted. It is not known if this was an outcome anticipated by Atkinson. Here are some predictions for the new SAT I test:SAT prep firms like Kaplan and Princeton Review will be busier than ever.
High schools in wealthier communities will emphasize "teaching to the test" more than schools in lower income areas. Activist parents in wealthy communities will focus for this change. But in lower income high schools where many students do not go to colleges requiring SAT's, there will be less emphasis on SAT test prep.
Black and Latino scores on the new SAT tests will, on average, be even lower compared to White and Asian scores than they are today.
Universities will find it ever more difficult to include a representative number of minority students in classes without differential racial standards of admission on SAT and other factors.
Potential Solution - consider non-academic skills
Research indicates that
academic skills account for only a third or less of an individual's professional success. Social Skills and Ambition/ self skills make up the other two thirds. And these other skills do not appear to have significant racial/ ethnic variations, as do academic skills. Colleges which are interested in identifying which applicants will be most successful in their future lives should look for ways to measure these other traits.For one proposal, see how
SQ could be used in college admissions. For other approaches on non-academic skills:Go to:
Measuring Integrity and Other Traits like trustworthiness and reliabilityGo to:
measuring Ambition/ self skillsGo to:
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