Attention Economy


Saturday, December 25, 2021

The Case for Standardized Tests

Who stands to gain most from Harvard’s SAT-optional policy? Harvard admissions officials.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/12/24/who-stands-gain-most-harvards-sat-optional-policy-harvard-admissions-officials/

Grades vs. SAT scores: Which is a better predictor of college success?
“Emily Engelschall, UC Riverside director of undergraduate admissions, says she sees the shortcomings of standardized testing but that the scores do help evaluate grades across vastly different high schools. She also worries that dropping the testing requirement could exacerbate grade inflation.
“If you don’t have some sort of standardized tests to balance out grade inflation,” she said, “then that does take one piece of the puzzle away from an admissions professional to help make a decision about a student.”
Jessica Howell, the College Board’s vice president of research, has said that a greater reliance on high school grades in the name of equity would be “misguided” because grade inflation is associated with wealth.”

The Truth About the SAT and ACT
Standardized tests have their problems, but they remain the best way of assessing students’ academic merits.
Standardized Tests Predict Graduate Students' Success