Measuring Success: Testing, Grades, and the Future of College Admissions

341 Pages·2018·5.97 MB·English

by  Jack Buckley

Mea sur ing Success
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Meas uri ng Success
testing, grades, and the future
of college admissions
Edited by
Jack Buckley
Lynn Letukas
Ben Wildavsky
Johns Hopkins University Press
Baltimore
© 2018 Johns Hopkins University Press
All rights reserved. Published 2018
Printed in the United States of Amer i ca on acid- free paper
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Johns Hopkins University Press
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Baltimore, Mary land 21218 - 4363
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Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Buckley, Jack, 1965– editor.
Title: Mea sur ing success : testing, grades, and the future of college
admissions / edited by Jack Buckley, Lynn Letukas, Ben Wildavsky.
Description: Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017035199| ISBN 9781421424965 (alk. paper : hardcover) |
ISBN 9781421424972 (electronic) | ISBN 1421424967 (alk. paper : hardcover) |
ISBN 1421424975 (electronic)
Subjects: LCSH: Universities and colleges— United States— Entrance
examinations— Validity. | BISAC: EDUCATION / Higher. | EDUCATION /
Testing & Mea sure ment. | STUDY AIDS / College Entrance.
Classification: LCC LB2353.2 .M43 2018 | DDC 378.1/662— dc23
LC rec ord available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2017035199
A cata log rec ord for this book is available from the British Library.
Chapter 8 has been republished with permission of Prince ton University
Press from William G. Bowen, Matthew M. Chingos, and Michael S.
McPherson, Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at Amer i ca’s
Universities (Prince ton, NJ: Prince ton University Press, 2009); permission
conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.
Chapter 9 has been republished with permission of Harvard University
Press from Rebecca Zwick, Who Gets In? Strategies for Fair and Effective
College Admissions (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
copyright © 2017 by Educational Testing Ser vice).
Chapter 10 has been republished from Andrew S. Belasco, Kelly O. Rosinger,
and James C. Hearn, “The Test- Optional Movement at Amer i ca’s Selective
Liberal Arts Colleges: A Boon for Equity or Something Else?,” Educational
Evaluation and Policy Analy sis, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 206–223, copyright © 2015.
Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications, Inc.
Special discounts are available for bulk purchases of this book. For more information,
please contact Special Sales at 410- 516-6 936 or [email protected] . edu.
Johns Hopkins University Press uses environmentally friendly book
materials, including recycled text paper that is composed of at least
30 percent post- consumer waste, whenever pos si ble.
Contents
Acknowl edgments vii
Introduction: The Emergence of Standardized Testing
and the Rise of Test- Optional Admissions 1
Jack Buckley, Lynn Letukas, and Ben Wildavsky
part i. Making the Case for Standardized Testing
1 Eight Myths about Standardized Admissions Testing 13
Paul R. Sackett and Nathan R. Kuncel
2 The Core Case for Testing: The State of Our Research Knowledge 40
Emily J. Shaw
3 Grade Inflation and the Role of Standardized Testing 64
Michael Hurwitz and Jason Lee
4 Merit- Based Scholarships in Student Recruitment
and the Role of Standardized Tests 94
Jonathan Jacobs, Jim Brooks, and Roger J. Thompson
5 When High School Grade Point Average and Test Scores Disagree:
Implications for Test- Optional Policies 118
Edgar Sanchez and Krista Mattern
part ii. The Rise of Test- Optional Admissions
6 Understanding the Test- Optional Movement 145
Jerome A. Lucido
vi Contents
7 Going Test- Optional: A Case Study 171
Eric Maguire
8 Test Scores and High School Grades as Predictors 193
William G. Bowen, Matthew M. Chingos, and Michael S. McPherson
Comment 226
Michael Hurwitz and Meredith Welch
Reply 234
Matthew M. Chingos and Michael S. McPherson
part iii. Con temporary Challenges for College Admissions
9 How Do Percent Plans and Other Test- Optional Admissions
Programs Affect the Academic Per for mance and Diversity
of the Entering Class? 239
Rebecca Zwick
10 The Test- Optional Movement at Amer i ca’s Selective
Liberal Arts Colleges: A Boon for Equity or Something Else? 260
Andrew S. Belasco, Kelly O. Rosinger, and James C. Hearn
11 The Effect of Going Test- Optional on Diversity
and Admissions: A Propensity Score Matching Analy sis 288
Kyle Sweitzer, A. Emiko Blalock, and Dhruv B. Sharma
Conclusion: The Future of College Admissions 309
Jack Buckley, Lynn Letukas, and Ben Wildavsky
Contributors 313
Index 321
Acknowl edgments
This volume took shape thanks to the efforts of many colleagues, beginning with
the contributors, who wrote insightful chapters and patiently responded to our
many editorial queries. At the College Board, we are grateful for support from David
Coleman, Stefanie Sanford, Cyndie Schmeiser, Jessica Howell, and Jennifer
Merriman; for invaluable assistance from Danielle Roberts, Deb Martinelli, Ginny
Heidel, and Mario Da Costa; and for the hard work of Sandra Riley, Zachary
Goldberg, and Abby Jacobs on our communications team. We are also fortunate
to have had the opportunity to work with the talented team at Johns Hopkins Uni-
versity Press and would like to thank in par tic u lar editorial director Greg Britton,
managing editor Julie McCarthy, and assistant editor Catherine Goldstead.
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Mea sur ing Success