\doc\web\99\14\satover.txt From: "Patricia Hausman" To: , Date sent: Thu, 23 Sep 1999 11:58:30 -0400 Subject: [h-bd] Re: TBC & Coleman > Charles Murray wrote: > > We have a current, classic example of a policy decision that > ignores-make that "flies in the face of"-the state of knowledge. > Namely, the plan to adjust SAT scores not just for SES but > for race. It is known beyond any data-based debate that SAT > scores do not underpredict black college performance. Here is a link to an ETS report that provides some relevant data. The numbers are based on 1994 SAT validity data from 45 colleges). web: http://www.collegeboard.org/index_this/research/html/rn01.pdf filed: zip37\clipim\99\09\23\rn01.pdf Once you get to the link, go to Table 7. It shows that high school GPA overpredicts freshman GPA for blacks by .35 on a 4 point scale. The SAT overpredicts same by .23 on a 4 point scale. Charles is quite right that the PC ETS has taken a stand that directly contradicts its own work. And this is hardly the first time. I can remember a few months back, a spokes- person for ETS explained the higher SAT scores of males on grounds that they continue to opt for coursework that better prepares them for the test. Aside from the fact that the test is supposed to be independent of the curriculum, the ETS website features data showing that females take more college prep courses than males. Similarly, the ETS book "Gender and Fair Assessment" states that the evidence for biological influences on abilities is weak, yet ETS also publishes a monograph that argues that biology is clearly an influence. I think the problem at ETS is that the right brain does not know what the left brain is doing. Patti