Do SAT Scores Matter?

The Effect of SAT Scores on Admissions Decisions

The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) released a study titled, Preparation for College Admission Exams. NACAC's agenda is to influence the way that admissions officers look at students test scores.

The NACAC wants admissions officers to eliminate the practice of using a hard SAT score cut off for determining admission decisions. Professor Briggs of University of Colorado at Boulder and the staff of NACAC conducted a survey to obtain information about the way that standardized test information is used to make admission decisions at four year, degree granting post secondary institutions in the U.S. The survey was sent to 1,075 post secondary institutions with a NACAC membership. 246 institutions completed the survey, a response rate of 23%. (Briggs,p.4)

The survey asked, "In what way are test scores used to make admissions decisions at your institution?" Defined Cut-off Threshold : 21%; Quantitative Index 31%; Holistic Approach:76%. When asked to rate the importance of test scores to admission decisions, "How important are the following criteria in admissions decisions made at your institution?" No/Limited/Moderate/Considerable Importance) 58 percent(127)of the institutions chose "considerable importance," with an average response between the categories of "moderate" and "considerable" importance. Only strength of curriculum and grades in college prep courses were weighted more heavily than test scores.(Briggs,p.8) The responses illustrate the importance of test scores in general and the importance of a small point improvement when applying to schools that have a defined threshold.

If marginal college admission decisions are made on the basis of very small differences in scores, a small gain made through coaching may be significant in yielding a positive admissions outcome where the data shows that an increase of 20 points on SAT-Math or an increase of 10 points on SAT-Critical Reading would, "significantly improve student's likelihood of admission." (Briggs,p.19). This is especially true for more selective institutions.


Research Conclusions
It has been found that even small increases in test scores may increase a student's chances of admissions at selective institutions. However this will primarily be true for students with above average admission test scores in the first place.

The bottom line is that SAT scores matter at selective schools and small increases in test scores can make the difference in being admitted or not.