Comments on: SATs predict college graduation

By: Darren

Darren — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:47:47 +0000

Thanks for the link

By: Brendan

Brendan — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:35:29 +0000

SAT measures how well a person does in school, thus it translates into higher graduations rates. This should be no surprise.

The question is should ourcolleges worry about graduation rates or should it worry about quality education?

By: thaprof

thaprof — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 13:47:25 +0000

In my department, SAT/ACT are more predictive of both graduation and GPA than the high school GPA. We are not an elite institution, though (average SAT ca. 1120 or some such)

By: Cardinal Fang

Cardinal Fang — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 04:01:19 +0000

I wonder how true this is for higher scorers. I have no trouble believing that scorers in the 600s (1200-1390 Math plus Reading) are more likely to graduate than scorers in the 500s (1000-1190 Math plus Reading). But I wonder whether scorers in the 700s are more likely to graduate than scorers in the 600s range. When 600+ scorers drop out, it’s not because they’re not smart enough, I think.

By: linda seebach

linda seebach — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 01:53:01 +0000

Salins had a longer piece on the Manhattan Institute site, Minding the Campus, Oct. 15:
http://www.mindingthecampus.com/originals/2008/10/by_peter_salins_one_of.html

By: Andromeda

Andromeda — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 17:49:35 +0000

I believe the op-ed to which you linked refers only to the SAT reasoning test (or whatever they’re calling it these days), not the subject tests; they’re completely different tests and I see no reason to a priori believe that results based on the SATs would transfer to conclusions about SAT subject tests.

By: Physics Teacher

Physics Teacher — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 16:21:59 +0000

This should be no surprise to anyone.

The education world is filled with people who seem to think that if only didn’t have SATs then everyone would go to Harvard and Yale. Somehow, these folks just aren’t doing the math.

Thanks to grade inflation you’ve got countless kids who’ve been repeatedly told they’re geniuses and when they get their SAT scores back they suddenly fall merely in the average range.

I think we should move to a system that resembles the British system where a set of standardized exams determines who gets to go to the most prestigious schools.