Authored by Lauren Boyer via The College Fix,
A research team is on the verge of unveiling a new study that could impact the ongoing debate surrounding the inclusion of standardized test scores in the college admissions process.
An abstract for the forthcoming working paper, published on the National Bureau of Economic Research website, outlines that the researchers examined the correlation between students’ standardized test scores, high school grades, and college grades.
“Standardized test scores predict academic outcomes with a normalized slope four times greater than that from high school GPA, all conditional on students’ race, gender, and socioeconomic status,” wrote the researchers.
While some universities had temporarily waived SAT or ACT requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a recent trend of reinstating these tests for applicants. Despite arguments against standardized testing due to perceived bias and inequality, the new research suggests otherwise.
Lead author Professor John Friedman, an economics professor at Brown University, shed light on the study’s methodology and findings, emphasizing the predictive power of standardized tests over high school GPA.
Regarding the study’s impact on various demographic groups, Friedman clarified that the research focused on the predictive abilities of test scores and GPA within the same racial, gender, and socioeconomic contexts.
Adam Kissel, a visiting fellow in education policy at the Heritage Foundation, echoed the importance of standardized tests in predicting college success, particularly for selective institutions. Kissel emphasized the need for selective colleges to heavily consider standardized test scores in admissions decisions.
As the study’s full results are set to be published in the AEA Papers and Proceedings for the 2025 Annual Conference, the implications of this research could potentially shape future admissions policies at universities.
Loading…