Is the SAT a Valid Exam?

On Tuesday, June 17th, the College Board released the first validity studies of the redesigned SAT exam. One study looks at the overall ability of the exam to predict student success in the first year of college. The other looks at the fairness of the exam for students from different demographic groups. The College Board concluded that the new writing section of the exam is the strongest predictor of student success. The full studies can be found in .pdf format on the College Board website.

Bob Schaeffer at the National Center for Fair & Open Testing was quick to challenge the College Board. He points out that the validity studies state that the new SAT exam does not substantially change how well the test predicts college success. He concludes that the main difference between the new exam and the old is that the new one is "longer and more expensive." You can read Mr. Schaeffer's complete reaction on the FairTest website.

Please feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts about the new SAT exam.