Back to the Basics: In Defense of Achievement (and Achievement Tests) in College Admissions

Abstract: 

Summarizing a decade of research at the University of California, this paper concludes that admissions criteria that tap student mastery of curriculum content, such as high-school grades and performance on achievement tests, are stronger predictors of success in college and are fairer to poor and minority applicants than tests of general reasoning such as the SAT.

Author: 
Publication date: 
July 1, 2008
Publication type: 
Research and Occasional Papers Series (ROPS)
Citation: 
Back to the Basics: In Defense of Achievement (and Achievement Tests) in College Admissions by Saul Geiser. CSHE.12.2008 (July 2008)