INAPPROPRIATE USE OF STANDARDIZED TESTS FOR COLLEGE ADMISSIONS

WHEREAS, standardized tests such as the SAT tend to be only modest predictors of college success, and at many public institutions are weak or worthless predictors (Sacks, Standardized Minds, 1999, pp. 268-272; Crain, "Open Admissions at the City University of New York," Academe, July/August, 2003); and

WHEREAS, in spite of the initial intention of the Educational Testing Service to construct tests to open opportunity for higher education to a wider segment of the population, a large body of evidence indicates that standardized tests still produce lower average scores for students of color, low-income students and women; and

WHEREAS, there is recent evidence that African-American students actually score relatively higher than white students on the most difficult items of the SAT but that the test makers disregard these items because they do not correlate with scores on the other items (Chronicle of Higher Education, Oct. 10, 2003):

RESOLVED, that the AFT urge colleges and universities to consider other variables such as grades, courses, letters of recommendation, evidence of talent, service, and leadership, along with standardized test scores, in admitting students. [Executive Council, February 2005]