In light of the current discourse around the alleged discriminatory nature of the SAT and ACT exams against underrepresented minority students, and the increase in American institutions of higher education choosing to adopt test-optional freshman admission policies, this study sought to identify weather these policies are associated with changes…

This study examines U.S. national colleges and universities that have de-emphasized or eliminated ACT and SAT scores and have implemented test-optional policies for undergraduate admissions. The study investigates the test-optional admissions trend and provides a "pre-post" quantitative analysis of test-optional policy effects on the…

This article discusses the conflict that arises between rising enrollments and meaningful college learning. The author highlights data on students' response to the college environment, and offers a number of innovative ideas for fostering intellectual growth among a more diverse student body. These include: early declaration of major; rethinking…

In 2016, more than 1.6 million students took the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), a standardized college admissions test (College Board 2016a). Researchers have estimated that 33 percent of students who take the SAT participate in some mode of formal test preparation, such as private tutoring or classes, to prepare for the exam (Buchmann, Condron…

This is the fifth in a series of articles describing an attrition prediction and intervention project at the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa. The project was originally presented in the 83(2) issue (Miller 2007). The statistical model for predicting attrition was described in the 83(3) issue (Miller and Herreid 2008). The methods and…

The array of admissions models and the underlying, and sometimes conflicting goals people have for college admissions, create the dynamics and the tensions that define the contemporary context for enrollment management. The senior enrollment officer must ask, for example, how does an institution try to assure transparency, equality of access,…

This study examined how high school seniors construct decision-making strategies for choosing a college to attend. To comprehend their decision-making strategies, we chose to examine this process through the theoretical lens of bounded rationality, which brings to light the complexity in constructing a college choice decision-making strategy…

The newly revamped Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) was administered for the first time in March 2005. Administrators, faculty, and staff in colleges and universities throughout the country were asking the same questions as students: "What was this new score of 2400 and what would it mean for them in terms of admissions, scholarships, and…

Is it possible simultaneously to enhance the academic quality of the student body and to increase its diversity? Assessments of creative and practical skills were given to college freshmen at thirteen varied institutions to supplement the SAT. Prediction of freshman-year GPA roughly doubled, and ethnic-group differences were substantially…

The Freshman Index, a combination of SAT score and high school grade point average, is the primary mechanism facilitating admissions decisions at Georgia State University. This article examines the relationships between these three admissions criteria and the graduating grade point averages of Asian, Black, and White six-year graduates.…

A statistical comparison of American College Test (ACT) or Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) for predicting first semester grade point averages (GPA) for beginning freshmen at Brigham Young University, when used with a high school GPA as a fixed independent variable, showed little or no difference. Other comparisons were by sex and geographic area.…

Analysis of the joint submission of Scholastic Aptitude Test scores by 10,704 high school seniors shows that relatively few colleges compete with each other in local student markets. This suggests that state and institutional policies for adapting to demographically induced enrollment declines will be severely constrained by the competitive…

The linear correlation between the high school percentile rank and five test scores is examined with regard to Afro-Americans, Spanish-Americans, and white students, and for male and female students. The results raise the question of how ACT and SAT test scores should be used in the admission process. (LBH)

Several meanings of bias are examined, and evidence concerning the validity of the Scholastic Aptitude Test, which has been widely criticized, is presented. Several forms of alleged bias are addressed, including underprediction of minority group college performance, bias in test use, measurement bias, and sex bias. (MSE)

This study compared the academic preparation, aspirations, and first-year college performance of first-generation college freshmen with other college freshmen at Indiana State University. It found that first-generation students were more likely to drop out during the first semester and had lower first-semester grades than students with one or more…