Thursday, October 7, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Reflections on a Century of College Admissions Tests
Abstract
The College Boards started as achievement tests designed to measure students’ mastery of college preparatory subjects. Admissions testing has significantly changed since then with the introduction of the Scholastic Aptitude Test, Lindquist’s creation of the ACT, renewed interest in subject-specific assessments, and current efforts to adapt K–12 standards-based tests for use in college admissions. We have come full circle to a renewed appreciation for the value of achievement tests. Curriculum-based achievement tests are more valid indicators of college readiness than other tests and have important incentive or signaling effects for K–12 schools as well: They help reinforce a rigorous academic curriculum and create better alignment of teaching, learning, and assessment along the pathway from high school to college.
Standardized testing for college admissions has seen extraordinary growth over the past century and appears to be on the cusp of still more far-reaching changes. Fewer than 1,000 examinees sat for the first College Boards in 1901. Today more than 1.5 million students take the SAT, 1.4 million sit for the ACT, and many students take both. This does not count many more who take preliminary versions of college entrance tests earlier in school, nor does it include those who take the SAT Subject Tests and Advanced Placement (AP) exams. Admissions testing continues to be a growth industry, and further innovations such as computer-based assessments with instant scoring, adaptive testing, and “noncognitive” assessment are poised to make their appearance.
Despite this growth and apparent success, the feeling persists that all is not well in the world of admissions testing. College entrance tests and related test preparation activities have contributed mightily to what has been called the “educational arms race”—the ferocious competition for admission at highly selective institutions (Atkinson, 2001). Many deserving low-income and minority students are squeezed out in this competition, and questions about fairness and equity are raised with increasing urgency. The role of the testing agencies themselves has also come into question, and some ask whether the testing industry holds too much sway over the colleges and universities it purports to serve. Underlying all of these questions is a deeper concern that the current regime of admissions testing may impede rather than advance our educational purposes.
The College Boards started as achievement tests designed to measure students’ mastery of college preparatory subjects. Admissions testing has significantly changed since then with the introduction of the Scholastic Aptitude Test, Lindquist’s creation of the ACT, renewed interest in subject-specific assessments, and current efforts to adapt K–12 standards-based tests for use in college admissions. We have come full circle to a renewed appreciation for the value of achievement tests. Curriculum-based achievement tests are more valid indicators of college readiness than other tests and have important incentive or signaling effects for K–12 schools as well: They help reinforce a rigorous academic curriculum and create better alignment of teaching, learning, and assessment along the pathway from high school to college.
Standardized testing for college admissions has seen extraordinary growth over the past century and appears to be on the cusp of still more far-reaching changes. Fewer than 1,000 examinees sat for the first College Boards in 1901. Today more than 1.5 million students take the SAT, 1.4 million sit for the ACT, and many students take both. This does not count many more who take preliminary versions of college entrance tests earlier in school, nor does it include those who take the SAT Subject Tests and Advanced Placement (AP) exams. Admissions testing continues to be a growth industry, and further innovations such as computer-based assessments with instant scoring, adaptive testing, and “noncognitive” assessment are poised to make their appearance.
Despite this growth and apparent success, the feeling persists that all is not well in the world of admissions testing. College entrance tests and related test preparation activities have contributed mightily to what has been called the “educational arms race”—the ferocious competition for admission at highly selective institutions (Atkinson, 2001). Many deserving low-income and minority students are squeezed out in this competition, and questions about fairness and equity are raised with increasing urgency. The role of the testing agencies themselves has also come into question, and some ask whether the testing industry holds too much sway over the colleges and universities it purports to serve. Underlying all of these questions is a deeper concern that the current regime of admissions testing may impede rather than advance our educational purposes.
Circumscribed Agency: The Relevance of Standardized College Entrance Exams for Low SES High School Students
Abstract
The authors interviewed Black and Latino students from five high-poverty high schools as they attempted to make the transition into college. Their ability to exert individual agency with regard to their entrance exams and their college transition was circumscribed by the messages and behavioral norms that dominated their low-performing high school context. Students preserved their sense of academic competence, yet they drastically misestimated the relevance of their scores while remaining uninformed about their level of college readiness or how to improve it. The framework for analysis comes from three theories: college choice process, cultural capital, and self-efficacy.
The authors interviewed Black and Latino students from five high-poverty high schools as they attempted to make the transition into college. Their ability to exert individual agency with regard to their entrance exams and their college transition was circumscribed by the messages and behavioral norms that dominated their low-performing high school context. Students preserved their sense of academic competence, yet they drastically misestimated the relevance of their scores while remaining uninformed about their level of college readiness or how to improve it. The framework for analysis comes from three theories: college choice process, cultural capital, and self-efficacy.
Considerations for College Admissions Testing
Abstract
Atkinson and Geiser (2009) make a strong argument for moving to a new form of college admissions testing using curriculum-based achievement tests. In making their case, however, they exaggerate the weaknesses of current tests such as the ACT and SAT by minimizing these tests’ predictive utility and claiming a stronger relationship to socioeconomic status measures than is justified. Although some of the features that they would like admissions tests to have, such as providing a strong signal to students, are indeed desirable, the tight alignment of admissions tests to college preparatory courses in high school is unlikely to be achieved on a national level without a national curriculum.
Atkinson and Geiser (2009) make a strong argument for moving to a new form of college admissions testing using curriculum-based achievement tests. In making their case, however, they exaggerate the weaknesses of current tests such as the ACT and SAT by minimizing these tests’ predictive utility and claiming a stronger relationship to socioeconomic status measures than is justified. Although some of the features that they would like admissions tests to have, such as providing a strong signal to students, are indeed desirable, the tight alignment of admissions tests to college preparatory courses in high school is unlikely to be achieved on a national level without a national curriculum.
Longitudinal Effects of College Preparation Programs on College Retention
Abstract
The effects of various college preparation programs, aptitude scores, and student background characteristics on college retention were studied. The data were obtained from the National Education Longitudinal Study: 1988-2000 and NELS:88/2000 Postsecondary Education Transcript Study. The effective sample contained 4,445 first-time freshmen students who were matriculated into four-year institutions between 1992 and 1994. Using survival analysis techniques, the focal point of the study was to examine longitudinal impact of high school programs on college retention. Participation in ACT/SAT preparation courses reduced the likelihood of departure by 42% or 55% in the second or third year in college, while receiving assistance in financial aid application increased the odds of departure by 89% in the second year.
The effects of various college preparation programs, aptitude scores, and student background characteristics on college retention were studied. The data were obtained from the National Education Longitudinal Study: 1988-2000 and NELS:88/2000 Postsecondary Education Transcript Study. The effective sample contained 4,445 first-time freshmen students who were matriculated into four-year institutions between 1992 and 1994. Using survival analysis techniques, the focal point of the study was to examine longitudinal impact of high school programs on college retention. Participation in ACT/SAT preparation courses reduced the likelihood of departure by 42% or 55% in the second or third year in college, while receiving assistance in financial aid application increased the odds of departure by 89% in the second year.
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