NACAC Report Underscores Importance of Predictive Validity Studies

A new NACAC report sheds light on the important role predictive validity research can play in informing admission practices.

Survey data from more than 400 US colleges show that although the majority of institutions require students to submit ACT or SAT scores, only half track how well standardized tests predict student success on their campuses.

Read more here.

See the study from the National Association for College Admission Counseling here.

Documentary Focuses on Entry Barriers to Elite New York City Schools

By Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, NBC News

About 30,000 New York City eighth graders last Saturday took the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT), the only way to gain admission into one of New York City's eight elite public high schools, especially Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, and Brooklyn Tech.

For many students, this exam is their ticket to a better education and a path out of poverty. However, this testing process has come under fire because although African Americans and Hispanic Americans make up 70 percent of New York City's school-aged population, they represent less than 5 percent at the city's most elite public high schools, while Asian Americans make up as much as 73 percent.

Read the story here.

Study Finds Race Growing Explanatory Factor for SAT Scores in California

By Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed

Large and growing gaps in SAT scores, by race and ethnicity, are nothing new. The College Board and educators alike have acknowledged these gaps and offered a variety of explanations, with a focus on the gaps in family income (on average) and the resources at high schools that many minority students attend. And indeed there is also a consistent pattern year after year on SAT scores in that the higher the family income, on average, the higher the scores.

But a new, long-term analysis of SAT scores has found that, among applicants to the University of California's campuses, race and ethnicity have become stronger predictors of SAT scores than family income and parental education levels.

Read the story here.