ACT and SAT Scores in the South: The Challenge To Lead - Examining the 2002 ACT and SAT scores for students in the 16 member states of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), the author seeks to answer four questions: (1) Are SREB states improving their ACT and SAT scores? (2) Are SREB states closing achievement gaps? (3) Are students in SREB states being sufficiently prepared for college? (4) How do students in SREB states compare with students nationally? And the answers: While some SREB states are making progress in some of the areas examined, more work remains to be done before all 16 states meet or exceed national benchmarks or averages. (Joan M. Lord, SREB, 2003)...

The Effects of Using ACT Composite Score and High School Average on College Admission Decisions for Racial/Ethnic Groups - This study examined the effects of using ACT Composite scores and/or high school averages in making college admission decisions for students from selected racial/ethnic groups. The author concludes that using both standardized test scores and high school grades in college admissions increases the likelihood of students' academic success and persistence in college. (Julie Noble, ACT, Inc., 2003) ...

A Decade of ACT Results in the Nation’s Urban Schools 1990-1999: A Report on Urban Student Achievement and Course Taking MS Word - This report summarizes ACT assessment scores of students attending one of the Great City Schools. It tracks urban student performance between 1990 and 1999 and examines achievement gaps by course preparation, race, gender and poverty. (Council of the Great City Schools and ACT, March 2001)...

Making the Grade: A Report on SAT I Results in the Nation's Urban Schools MS Word - This is the first comprehensive study to examine SAT I Math and Verbal test results in the nation's urban schools. Sponsors of the study prepared the report to provide urban educators with a way to examine student achievement in the context of rising standards. (Council of the Great City Schools and The College Board, March 2001)...

The SAT's Greatest Test - The SAT, which has for decades had a huge influence over who is admitted to the nation's most competitive colleges, is facing its greatest test ever. A combination of social, legal and demographic forces are making many educators and policymakers question its role and promote alternatives to the test. Many believe that the test's future is up in the air. This special report explores the debate over the SAT and the possibilities for a radical change in the way top colleges admit their students. (Ben Gose and Jeffrey Selingo, The Chronicle of Higher Education, October 26, 2001) ...

Coaching and the SAT I - The College Board found that commercial coaching on the revised SAT I did not produce the large score increases often touted by major commercial test-preparation companies. Researchers measured the change in pre-SAT I and post-SAT I scores for both coached and uncoached students and found the estimated effect of coaching to be eight points on verbal and 18 points on math. (The College Board, April 1999)...

Myths and Tradeoffs: The Role of Tests in Undergraduate Admissions MS Word - This report has three purposes: to identify and correct some persistent myths about standardized admissions tests and highlight some of the specific tradeoffs that decisions about the uses of tests entail; to present conclusions and recommendations about the role of tests in college admissions; and to lay out several issues about which information would clearly help decisionmakers when the existing data are either insufficient or need synthesis and interpretation. (Alexandra Beatty, M.R.C. Greenwood and Robert L. Linn, editors, National Research Council, 1999)...