1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910960906103321

Titolo

Myths and tradeoffs : the role of tests in undergraduate admissions / / Steering Committee for the Workshop on Higher Education Admissions ; Alexandra Beatty, M.R.C. Greenwood, and Robert L. Linn, editors

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Washington, D.C., : National Academy Press, c1999

ISBN

9780309184328

0309184320

9780309520300

0309520304

9780585085722

0585085722

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

xii, 44 p. : 2 ill

Collana

The compass series

Altri autori (Persone)

BeattyAlexandra S

GreenwoodM. R. C

LinnRobert L

Disciplina

378.1/662

Soggetti

Universities and colleges - United States - Entrance examinations

Universities and colleges - United States - Admission

Educational tests and measurements - United States

SAT (Educational test)

ACT Assessment

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

"Board on Testing and Assessment, Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, and Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel, National Research Council."

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 34-35).

Nota di contenuto

Front  Matter -- Preface -- Contents -- Executive Summary -- Context -- What Do Colleges Really Do? -- What Do Test Scores Really Mean? -- Tradeoffs -- Topics for Further Study -- References.

Sommario/riassunto

More than 8 million students enrolled in 4-year, degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the United States in 1996. The multifaceted system through which these students applied to and were selected by the approximately 2,240 institutions in which they enrolled is complex, to say the least; for students, parents, and advisers, it is



often stressful and sometimes bewildering. This process raises important questions about the social goals that underlie the sorting of students, and it has been the subject of considerable controversy. The role of standardized tests in this sorting process has been one of the principal flashpoints in discussions of its fairness. Tests have been cited as the chief evidence of unfairness in lawsuits over admissions decisions, criticized as biased against minorities and women, and blamed for the fierce competitiveness of the process. Yet tests have also been praised for their value in providing a common yardstick for comparing students from diverse schools with different grading standards. Myths and Tradeoffs identifies and corrects some persistent myths about standardized admissions tests and highlight some of the specific tradeoffs that decisions about the uses of tests entail; presents conclusions and recommendations about the role of tests in college admissions; and lays out several issues about which information would clearly help decision makers, but about which the existing data are either insufficient or need synthesis and interpretation. This report will benefit a broad audience of college and university officials, state and other officials and lawmakers, and others who are wrestling with decisions about admissions policies, definitions of merit, legal actions, and other issues.