Connect with us

#NNPA BlackPress

What Do Standardized Tests Say About College Achievement?

SACRAMENTO OBSERVER — The SAT is one of the longest-standing standardized college admissions in the United States. Along with its counterpart, the ACT, these tests have been at the center of heated debates. Some say these tests only serve to reinforce racial inequities in education. Supporters of SAT and ACT scores say that they help universities understand how likely students will be to succeed in college by predicting grades, chances of graduation, and success after college.

Published

on

By Annie Lennon | Stacker | The Sacramento Observer

(Stacker) – Every year, millions of high schoolers prepare for the arduous process of college admissions. Most will take either the SAT or the ACT, multi-hour examinations that can feel like the climax of an epic battle students have been waging ever since they entered the halls of formal education.

But is it a battle worth fighting in the first place?

The SAT is one of the longest-standing standardized college admissions in the United States. Along with its counterpart, the ACT, these tests have been at the center of heated debates. Some say these tests only serve to reinforce racial inequities in education. Supporters of SAT and ACT scores say that they help universities understand how likely students will be to succeed in college by predicting grades, chances of graduation, and success after college.

Numerade analyzed academic research to see what standardized test scores say about academic success.

The SAT contains two sections: math and evidence-based reading and writing. Most answers are multiple-choice, but some math questions require entering an answer instead of selecting one. An optional SAT essay was discontinued in 2021, however, a small number of schools still choose to offer it.

The ACT is a little different in that it contains four sections: English, math, reading, and science. All of its questions are multiple-choice, and it has an optional writing section that may be required by some universities.

Numerade

Numerade

Standardized testing may be better predictors than generally supposed

In a study published in January 2024, Harvard-based research initiative Opportunity Insights, along with researchers from Brown University, Dartmouth College, and the National Bureau of Economic Research, investigated the value of standardized test scores in the college admission process. They found that SAT and ACT scores—but, surprisingly, not high school GPA scores—can better predict academic success in college. “Test scores have vastly more predictive power than is commonly understood in the popular debate,” John Friedman, the lead author of the study, told The New York Times.

The study looked at students who were admitted to all eight Ivy League colleges plus Stanford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Duke, and the University of Chicago between 2017 and 2022. It found that students with perfect scores on the SAT or ACT, 1600 or 36 respectively, achieved a 0.43 point-higher first-year college GPA than students who earned SAT and ACT scores of 1200 and 25. However, students with a perfect (scaled) GPA of 4.0 in high school achieve less than a 0.1-point higher GPA in their first year of college than students with a high school GPA of 3.2.

Some have raised concerns that these standardized test scores may not show the full picture. They worry these tests could be biased against students who aren’t able to afford the additional cost of tutors or other resources that can help them prepare for college, a question the Opportunity Insights paper also answered. Controlling for family income, race, gender, and legacy status, the study found that there was no evidence that students from higher-resource backgrounds performed better than peers from lower-resource backgrounds. In fact, their college GPAs were practically identical.

All together, the researchers concluded that standardized test scores may help highly selective colleges provide upward mobility and accept students from a wide range of backgrounds.

Numerade

Numerade

A history of imperfectly measuring potential

Standardized tests emerged alongside the growth of publicly funded education in the mid-1800s. As more children entered the education system, oral examinations were replaced with standardized written tests.

The first standardized college entrance exams in the U.S. appeared with the College Entrance Examination Board in 1900, formed from 12 colleges, including Harvard University and Columbia University. SATs were introduced less than a century ago in 1926, and ACTs came in 1959. Both became staples of the college application process.

In recent years, however, some have started to doubt the efficacy of standardized tests for college applications. In May 2020, for example, the University of California decided to drop SAT/ACT scores to allow for fairer evaluation of college applications.

The COVID-19 pandemic spurred other universities to reconsider their SAT/ACT policies too as the testing bodies were forced to close temporarily. During this time, many colleges made test scores optional.

Since then, however, some colleges such as Dartmouth, Yale, and Brown have announced that they will once again require applications to include standardized test scores. Other colleges however, such as the University of California system, have declined to even consider these scores, while others like Emory and Vanderbilt have extended test-optional policies.

Whether or not colleges decide to include standardized test scores in their admissions process depends on views about how well they help identify the most academically prepared students.

Previous research published in October 2023 from Opportunity Insights shows that students from less advantaged backgrounds receive lower standardized test scores on average and are less likely to undergo testing than peers from higher-income families. Only a quarter of children from the bottom 20% of income distribution take the SAT or ACT versus about 80% for those in higher-income families. For those who do take the test, only 2.5% of those in the lower-income bracket score 1300 or higher versus 17% for those in the top 20%.

With the findings from the latter Opportunity Insights research, the SAT and ACT may easily be dismissed as tests only for the wealthy. However, economist David Deming, who worked on the paper, cautions against oversimplifying these exams as “wealth tests.” Doing so overlooks their capability to help administrators discover the potential in candidates regardless of background.

He argued that if SATs or ACTs were removed altogether, it might disadvantage lower-income students even more. Deming told the Harvard Gazette, “If you get rid of the SAT, as many colleges have done, what you have left is things that are also related to wealth, probably even more so. Whether you can write a persuasive college essay, whether you can have the kinds of experiences that give you high ratings for extracurricular activities and leadership; those things are incredibly related to wealth.”

Story editing by Carren Jao. Additional editing by Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Tim Bruns.

This story originally appeared on Numerade and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

#NNPA BlackPress

Supreme Court Decision Confirms Convicted Felon Will Assume Presidency

NNPA NEWSWIRE — In a 5-4 ruling, the court stated that Trump’s concerns could “be addressed in the ordinary course on appeal” and emphasized that the burden of sentencing was “relatively insubstantial” given that Trump will not face prison time. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court’s three liberal justices in the majority, with four conservative justices dissenting.

Published

on

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s emergency request to block criminal proceedings in his New York hush money case, ensuring that a sentencing hearing will proceed as scheduled on Friday. The decision makes it official that, on January 20, for the first time in its history, the United States will inaugurate a convicted felon as its president.

In a 5-4 ruling, the court stated that Trump’s concerns could “be addressed in the ordinary course on appeal” and emphasized that the burden of sentencing was “relatively insubstantial” given that Trump will not face prison time. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court’s three liberal justices in the majority, with four conservative justices dissenting.

Trump was convicted in May for falsifying business records related to a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg argued that the Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction to intervene in a state criminal case, particularly before all appeals in state courts were exhausted.

Trump’s legal team claimed the sentencing process would interfere with his transition to power and argued that evidence introduced during the trial included official actions protected under the Supreme Court’s prior ruling granting former presidents immunity for official conduct. Merchan, the New York judge who presided over the trial, ruled in December that the evidence presented was unrelated to Trump’s duties as president.

Prosecutors dismissed Trump’s objections, stating that the sentencing would take less than an hour and could be attended virtually. They said the public interest in proceeding to sentencing outweighed the President-elect’s claims of undue burden.

Justice Samuel Alito, one of the four dissenting justices, confirmed speaking to Trump by phone on Wednesday. Alito insisted the conversation did not involve the case, though the call drew criticism given his previous refusals to recuse himself from politically sensitive matters.

The sentencing hearing is set for Friday at 9:30 a.m. in Manhattan. As the nation moves closer to an unprecedented inauguration, questions about the implications of a convicted felon assuming the presidency remain.

“No one is above the law,” Bragg said.

Continue Reading

#NNPA BlackPress

How Head Start Installs Confidence for Two Generations

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Head Start is a changemaker for all communities. Child by child, family by family, the seeds that are sowed continue to blossom as they stretch higher and higher toward the sunshine.

Published

on

By Olivia Harvey

The founders of Head Start have always viewed parents as critical partners in their work to educate young children. They also understood that this partnership meant parents should help decide which services would most benefit their families and those in the community. As a result, Head Start created a formal leadership and policymaking role for parents and community members called the Policy Council.

Thank you to Head Start parent, Policy Council member, and alumna Olivia Harvey for recently sharing her story.

A few years ago my daughter Maliya was six years old and had just started kindergarten, after graduating from the Children First Head Start program in Sarasota County, Florida. It was hard to believe we’d reached this major milestone, but with all the love, care, and guidance she received from her incredible teachers, I’m confident that she will continue to blossom and thrive. Children First and the Head Start program have always been close to my heart, and the hearts of my family. My husband Malik is also a proud Head Start graduate along with some members of his family. He’s a wonderful support system and understands our shared mission of raising the healthiest, happiest family possible. Our lives are centered around family, and in addition to Maliya, we also have two other children, our sons Jeremiah and King. When we had our kids, we knew we didn’t have to look far to find quality, affordable childcare with amazing teachers we could trust. With the challenges we were facing, we knew we could turn to Children First’s Head Start program to help us find our path to success.

My family has been involved with Children First since Jeremiah was a toddler. Our family advocate, Ernestine, was there for Maliya and our entire family every step of the way. I know that even when my daughter is in high school, Ernestine will be there in a heartbeat if we ever need anything. The teachers care so deeply about the kids, and they never forget their faces. One day, Maliya came home with a photo taken by her teacher, Miss LaTonda. It was a baby picture of me because Miss LaTonda had been my teacher as well. I couldn’t believe she had kept it for all these years! It was such a special memory to share with my daughter, and it’s moments like this that let me know we will always be a part of the Children First family. Through Head Start, I also found a lot of support personally and as a parent. Due to the pandemic, I had reduced hours and was forced to seek other employment. During this time, I needed something that would allow me to feel professional and help me keep my skills up while at the same time offering me the flexibility to be a mom.

Luckily, Children First was offering a Job Skills Training Course as part of the agency’s Family Strengthening services. The class was perfect because it provided a sense of accountability and belonging. I learned about identifying and overcoming obstacles related to employment, and there was a special focus on resume writing, interviews, and ‘acing’ the first 90 days at a new job, which has benefited me! After a mock interview with my vocational family advocate Laura and her colleagues, I felt so confident with the skills that I had learned, and I decided to reach a higher goal in the workforce. I was offered a position at Sarasota School of the Arts & Sciences, where I have been working as a paraprofessional. While working full-time, I’ve also had the opportunity to go back to school to earn my bachelor’s degree to become a history or math teacher. My ambitions have led me to be a working professional, a full-time mom, and now, a student, but I’m not stopping there. In the future, I would like to earn my master’s degree and work as an administrator, with one of my ultimate goals being to run for the school board.

Because of Children First, Head Start, and my vocational coach, Laura, it feels like a whole new world of possibilities has opened. While I was unexpectedly unemployed but fighting to stay engaged, I was supported every step of the way. Laura and the team at Children First continue to guide me and my family on our journey to success. Although we still face unique challenges, I feel grateful and am so proud of how far we’ve come. Because Malik and I were able to grow and thrive in a healthy environment at the earliest stages of our lives, the lives of our children have been transformed for the better. Right now, some parents, families, and caregivers are struggling financially and socially. They need lower childcare prices, full workday hours with childcare coverage, and free transportation to and from daycare.

Head Start is a changemaker for all communities. Child by child, family by family, the seeds that are sowed continue to blossom as they stretch higher and higher toward the sunshine. Their promise is simple: every child, regardless of circumstances at birth, can reach their full potential. As I look to the future — from my youngest child thriving, to earning my teaching degree, to raising my beautiful children alongside my husband and beyond that, I know that thanks to Head Start, there is nothing to fear.

Continue Reading

#NNPA BlackPress

Cold Weather Safety for Children

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Keep babies’ cribs free of stuffed animals and blankets. A firm mattress covered with a tight-fitting crib sheet is all that an infant needs to sleep safely.

Published

on

By The Head Start Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center

Children are more vulnerable than adults to the effects of cold weather. The Head Start Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center developed these tips to help families and staff keep children safe, healthy, and warm in the winter.

Bundle up!

  • Children are at greater risk for frostbite than adults. The best way to prevent frostbite is to make sure children dress warmly and don’t spend too much time outside in extreme weather.
  • Dress children in layers of warm clothing. If the top layer gets wet, they will still have a dry layer underneath.
  • Tuck scarves inside coats and jackets to prevent them from becoming strangulation hazards.
  • Car seats and winter coats don’t mix. Bulky coats can compress in a crash and create a loose car seat harness. Instead, lay the jacket or a blanket over the children once you’ve safely strapped them into their car seat.

Keeping Healthy Outdoors

  • There’s no set amount of time for children to play outside safely when the weather is cold. Use your best judgment. When the cold becomes unpleasant, it’s time to go inside.
  • If you are unsure if weather conditions are safe for outdoor play, check the Child Care Weather Watch Chart.
    • Have children come indoors periodically to prevent hypothermia or frostbite. A temperature of 0 degrees Fahrenheit and a wind speed of 15 mph creates a wind chill temperature of -19 F. Under these conditions, frostbite can occur in just 30 minutes.
    • Frostnip is an early warning sign of frostbite. The skin may feel numb or tingly or appear red (on lighter skin).
    • To prevent frostbite, check that mittens and socks are dry and warm. Frostbite occurs mostly on fingers, toes, ears, noses, and cheeks. The affected area becomes very cold, firm, and, depending on the color of the skin, turns white, yellowish-gray, or gray.
    • Even though it’s cold outside, it’s important to use sunscreen and stay hydrated. Children are more likely than adults to become dehydrated.

Staying Safe Indoors and in Vehicles

  • Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment, including furnaces, fireplaces, wood stoves, and portable space heaters.
  • Set up a 3-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters.
  • Remember to turn portable heaters off when leaving the room.
  • Test smoke alarms at least once a month.
  • Vent all fuel-burning equipment to the outside to avoid carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.
  • Install and maintain CO alarms. Keep alarms at least 15 feet away from fuel-burning appliances.
  • If you need to warm up your vehicle, remove it from the garage as soon as you start it to avoid the risk of CO poisoning. Don’t leave a vehicle running inside a garage.
  • If vehicles are parked outside, check to make sure the tailpipe is not blocked with snow, which can also cause problems with CO.

Sleeping Safely in Any Season

  • Keep babies’ cribs free of stuffed animals and blankets. A firm mattress covered with a tight-fitting crib sheet is all that an infant needs to sleep safely.
  • If you are worried about keeping babies warm, dress them in a wearable blanket, also known as a sleep sack.

Infection Control

  • Cold weather does not cause colds or flu. However, viruses that cause a cold and the flu are more common in the winter when children spend more time indoors.
  • Keeping everyone’s hands clean is one of the most important ways to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. Wash hands with soap and clean running water and rub them together for at least 20 seconds.
  • Teach children to cough or sneeze into their upper sleeve or elbow, not their hands. Adults should model this behavior.
  • Review program policies on handwashing; cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting; and excluding children and caregivers who are sick.
  • The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that all children 6 months and older receive the seasonal flu vaccine every year. All early care and education program staff should also get vaccinated for the flu.
Continue Reading

Subscribe to receive news and updates from the Oakland Post

* indicates required

CHECK OUT THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE OAKLAND POST

ADVERTISEMENT

WORK FROM HOME

Home-based business with potential monthly income of $10K+ per month. A proven training system and website provided to maximize business effectiveness. Perfect job to earn side and primary income. Contact Lynne for more details: Lynne4npusa@gmail.com 800-334-0540

Facebook

Trending

Copyright ©2021 Post News Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.