6.18.08

= SAT STUDY -- GRAMMAR/USAGE BEST PREDICTOR OF COLLEGE SUCCESS<= /p>

Questions: How can students raise their = SAT scores to help them get into the colleges of their choice, and how can these students be successful once they get there?

http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-r= esearch/sat/validity-studies

What a person should conclude from this SAT st= udy just released today is that the Writing section is a very good predict= or of students' first-year college grades. Since 70% of the writing score is based upon grammar/usage questions (essay counts only 30%], then the grammar/usage scores evidently are a good predictor of stude= nts' first-year college grades.

The question should be then, "How do stud= ents raise their grammar/usage scores?" Obviously, they need to learn grammar/usage.

MyStudyHall.com is the answer because it is an affordable online tutorial that contains three in-depth, self-paced, grammar/usage modules that flow cognitively from one concept to the next.&n= bsp; Each of the three modules grows in depth and complexity so that the student= is constantly challenged but not overwhelmed.

= http://www.collegeboard.com:80/press/releases/197359.html

College Board

6.18.08

New studies provide first-year performance data

The College Board introduced a revised SAT, with an additional writing section [two writing subscores -- grammar/usage 70% and essay 30%] and minor changes in conten= t to the verbal and mathematics sections, in March 2005. Colleges and universiti= es across the United St= ates provided first-year performance data for the fall 2006 entering cohort of first-year, first-time students to validate the use of the SAT in college admissions.

Two studies are now available:

Validity of the SAT for Predicting First-Year College Grade Point Average (.pdf/550K) looks at the overall ability of the SAT to predict perform= ance in the first year of college.

Differential Validity and Prediction of the SAT (.pdf/565K) evaluates if the SAT is fair and consistent across the key demographic variables of gender, race/ethnicity, and best language.

The final sample included 151,316 students attending 110 colleges and universities.

Results of the SAT Validity Studies

The College Board research studies analyzed the data submitted by the 110 colleges that participated in the College Board's Admitted Class Evaluation Service (ACES). These colleges received their ACES study results= in the fall and winter of 2007-08. Many other colleges and college systems, su= ch as the University of California syste= m, conducted their own studies. For both the University of Calif= ornia and the College Board studies, the results are similar. Writing is the most predictive section of the SAT, slightly more predictive than either math or critical reading. In the California study= , SAT scores were slightly more predictive than high school grade point average (HSGPA). In the College Board analysis of the more than 150,000 students included in all 110 ACES studies, HSGPA was slightly more predictive than S= AT scores.

Validity of the SAT for Predicting First-Ye= ar College Grade Point Average study

The main analytic method used for this study was the comparison = of single and multiple correlations of predictors (SAT scores, HSGPA) with first-year college GPA (FYGPA). All correlations were corrected for range restriction.

The results show that the SAT continue= s to be a very strong predictor of first-year college performance, and that the changes made to the SAT add to the test's validity. Read a summary of the key findings. (.pdf/32K)

Differential Validity and Prediction o= f the SAT study

The purpose of this study was to assess the differential validity and differential prediction of the revised SAT for gender, racial/ethnic, a= nd best language subgroups. Differential validity exists if the magnitude of t= he test-criterion correlation varies by subgroup. Differential prediction occu= rs when a test systematically over- or underpredicts the criterion (e.g., FYGP= A) by subgroup. The results are similar to prior res= earch indicating that changes to the SAT did not diminish the differential predic= tion and validity of the test, and the SAT continues to be a fair test for all students. Read a summary of the key findings. (.pdf/49K)

Implications of the studies

Both the College Board and the University of California studies indicate that w= riting is the most predictive section of the SAT. Colleges not requiring an admiss= ions test with writing, therefore, are overlooking the most useful section of the test and one of the best predictors of college success to which they have access. Writing as a college-level skill is a crucial asset for student success, an important message reinforced by colleges that require admissions tests with a writing section.

=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D

http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profd= ownload/FYGPA_Validity_Summary_keyfindings.pdf

In March 2005, the College Board introduced a revised SAT, with = an additional writing section and minor changes in content to the verbal and mathematics sections.

The results are simi= lar to prior research indicating that changes to the SAT did not diminish t= he differential prediction and validity of the test, and the SAT continues to = be a fair test for all students...

Among the three individual SAT sections, SAT writing has the highest correlation with FYGPA [first-year college grade point average] (r =3D 0.51). = The correlation is 0.48 for SAT critical reading and 0.47 for SAT mathematics. = In fact, SAT writing alone has the same correlation with FYGPA as does SAT critical reading and SAT mathematics taken together...

Tim Thomasson=

President, MyStudyHall, LLC

106 N. Denton Tap Rd.

Suite 210, Box= 159

Coppell, TX 75019

214-695-8347<= o:p>

tim.thomasson@mystudyhall.com=

www.mystudyhall.com=

Donna Garner<= o:p>

Writer/Consul= tant

254-666-2798<= o:p>

wgarner1@hot.rr.com<= /p>

Dr. C. Grant = Endicott

Vice Presiden= t, MyStudyHall.com

606-780-1114<= o:p>

grant.endicott@mystudyhall.c= om

Allison Garne= r

Marketing Dir= ector

972-874-5599<= o:p>

ga.garner@verizon.net<= /b>