20.10: SAT and College GPA
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Learning Objectives
- Predicting college GPA from high school scores
Research conducted by
Thomas W. MacFarland
Case study prepared by
Emily Zitek
Overview
When deciding whether to admit an applicant, colleges take lots of factors, such as grades, sports, activities, leadership positions, awards, teacher recommendations, and test scores, into consideration. Using SAT scores as a basis of whether to admit a student or not has created some controversy. Among other things, people question whether the SATs are fair and whether they predict college performance.
This study examines the SAT and GPA information of \(105\) students who graduated from a state university with a B.S. in computer science. Using the grades and test scores from high school, can you predict a student's college grades?
Questions to Answer
Can the math and verbal SAT scores be used to predict college GPA? Are the high school and college GPAs related?
Design Issues
The conclusions from this study should not be generalized to students of other majors.
Descriptions of Variables
| Variable | Description |
| high_GPA | High school grade point average |
| math_SAT | Math SAT score |
| verb_SAT | Verbal SAT score |
| comp_GPA | Computer science grade point average |
| univ_GPA | Overall university grade point average |
Data Files
SAT.xls
Links
Want a job? Hand over your SAT results! Is the SAT a fair test?
References
- None