Using the SAT and High School Record in Academic Guidance

Abstract

This study appraised the utility of SAT scores in combination with grades in high school courses and the number and quality of these courses in predicting college grades in various fields of study, with the object of providing students with predictions of their academic performance for guidance purposes. The possible impact of this feedback on the flow of students into these fields was also assessed. Data for an entering class at a large state university were used. The SAT and collateral variables were able to predict college grades in different academic areas by taking account of marked variations in grade distributions among fields. These predictions could be potentially useful in guidance. Students' predicted grades in the fields and their intended majors were unrelated, and many students had their highest predicted grades in the humanities, though few intended to major in this field. Hence this feedback would probably stimulate students to take courses or major in the humanities.