Can High School Achievement Tests Serve to Select College Students?

Abstract

Postsecondary schools have traditionally relied on admissions tests such as the SAT and ACT to select students. With high school achievement assessments in place in many states, it is important to ascertain whether scores from those exams can either supplement or supplant conventional admissions tests. In this study we examined whether the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) high school tests could serve as a useful predictor of college performance. Stepwise regression analyses with a predetermined order of variable entry revealed that AIMS generally did not account for additional performance variation when added to high school grade‐point average (HSGPA) and SAT. However, in a cohort of students that took the test for graduation purposes, AIMS did account for about the same proportion of variance as SAT when added to a model that included HSGPA. The predictive value of both SAT and AIMS was generally the same for Caucasian, Hispanic, and Asian American students. The ramifications of universities using high school achievement exams as predictors of college success, in addition to or in lieu of traditional measures, are discussed.

Using State Assessments for Predicting Student Success in Dual‐Enrollment College Classes

“…Linking state standards‐based assessments to postsecondary opportunities, such as college or vocational training, helps bridge the gap between secondary and postsecondary expectations for students. An added benefit from linking state standards‐based assessments with tangible outcomes such as course placement may be an increase in test validity, such as the increase reported by Cimetta et al () in their study of the Arizona standards‐based test before and after the test's establishment as a graduation requirement. Demonstrating the efficacy of state standards‐based assessments for specific college program placement provides an avenue for significant cost savings on the part of postsecondary institutions as well as increasing student motivation to perform well on the state standards‐based assessment.…”

“…Wise and DeMars () found that low student motivation sizably increased student score variability which, in turn, is likely to mask relationships that may actually exist in the population. Cimetta et al () were in a unique position to observe the change in test score performance corresponding with tying the Arizona assessment to graduation requirements. Further, researcher in this area may benefit by focusing on states that associate student‐relevant outcomes with assessment performance.…”

“…The authors found that the mathematics and writing scores were significant and positive predictors of first‐year grade point average, but the reading score was not predictive (D'Agostino & Bonner, ). Data from the years after AIMS was required for high school graduation showed higher correlations with college grades than data from earlier years (Cimetta et al., ).…”

“…Cimetta, D'Agostino, and Levin () and D'Agostino and Bonner () researched whether the Arizona state standards‐based assessment (AIMS) could be used to predict college performance. The authors found that the mathematics and writing scores were significant and positive predictors of first‐year grade point average, but the reading score was not predictive (D'Agostino & Bonner, ).…”

Utilizing Traditional Cognitive Measures of Academic Preparation to Predict First-Year Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Majors' Success in Math and Science Courses

“…Cimetta, D'Agostino, and Levin (2010) also cited several studies that have challenged the use of SAT scores as part of their research on the prospect of using state high school achievement tests (in Arizona) as a substitute for SAT scores. One of the biggest complaints regarding their use has been the claim that SAT questions are racially biased.…”