UC President Richard C. Atkinson proposed dropping the SAT I as a criterion for applying to UC schools, citing the test as an unfair assessment of the abilities of students.
“”The SAT I is problematic because it does not cover what is learned in a high school curriculum,”” said UC spokesman Brad Hayward. “”The SAT measures the student’s test taking abilities.””
As a result of such criticism regarding the SAT, Atkinson has proposed to restructure the application process so that students will no longer submit their SAT I scores. Instead, high school grade point averages in UC-approved classes and SAT II scores would be the two major parts of the application and would determine a student’s acceptance.
Atkinson suggested that a new, fairer standardized test be developed, but recommended that the SAT II be used until such a test has been made.
In his Feb. 18 speech at the Annual Meeting of the American Council Education, Atkinson said that the SAT I is no longer a valid indicator of success in college.
“”We know that high school grades are by far the best indicator of first-year college performance,”” he said. “”We have also found that the SAT II is a better predictor of performance than the SAT I.””
A 1996 study, on the other hand, showed that 82 percent of students who had over a 1,300 on their SAT I graduated college within five years, while only 74 percent of the students who scored between 1200 and 1299 graduated within the same time frame.
UCSD’s Assistant Vice Chancellor Richard Backer said that this proposed policy would not impact UCSD to a large degree, as the importance of standardized tests in admissions decisions has already been decreasing for the last two years.
For the last two years, admission to UCSD has been based 60 percent on high school GPA and 40 percent on standardized tests. This is a change from three years ago when the percentages were equal at 50 percent each.
In recent years, the test has fallen under close scrutiny, and many believe it is culturally, sexually and economically unfair.
Statistics from the 1998 test show that males on average perform 42 points better on the exam than females, despite females’ general better performance in high school and higher graduation rate than males.
The SAT is also under scrutiny because many believe it is unfair to students from low-income families that cannot afford private tutoring. Atkinson said last year that about 150,000 students paid over $100 million to companies such as IVY West and Kaplan that charge as much as $750 per student for services.
“”These changes will help all students — especially low-income and minority students — determine their own educational destinies,”” Atkinson said.
If passed by the UC Regents, the proposal will go into effect during the 2003 school year. Backer said there is a strong possibility that this will happen.
