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

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  • Geiser, Saul

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Geiser, Saul, 2008. "Back to the Basics: In Defense of Achievement (and Achievement Tests) in College Admissions," University of California at Berkeley, Center for Studies in Higher Education qt8kd4q096, Center for Studies in Higher Education, UC Berkeley.
    • Handle: RePEc:cdl:cshedu:qt8kd4q096
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    File URL: https://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/8kd4q096.pdf;origin=repeccitec
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    1. Geiser, Saul & Maria Veronica Santelices, 2007. "Validity Of High-School Grades In Predicting Student Success Beyond The Freshman Year: High-School Record vs. Standardized Tests as Indicators of Four-Year College Outcomes," University of California at Berkeley, Center for Studies in Higher Education qt7306z0zf, Center for Studies in Higher Education, UC Berkeley.
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    Cited by:

    1. Christoffel Reumer and Marijk van der Wende, 2010. "EXCELLENCE AND DIVERSITY: The Emergence of Selective Admission Policies in Dutch Higher Education - A Case Study on Amsterdam University College," University of California at Berkeley, Center for Studies in Higher Education qt4502w5pj, Center for Studies in Higher Education, UC Berkeley.
    2. Geiser, Saul, 2008. "Not So Fast! A Second Opinion on a University of California Proposal to Endorse the New SAT," University of California at Berkeley, Center for Studies in Higher Education qt0x09n63m, Center for Studies in Higher Education, UC Berkeley.
    3. Jake Anders, 2014. "Does an aptitude test affect socioeconomic and gender gaps in attendance at an elite university?," DoQSS Working Papers 14-07, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.

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