College Admissions: Are There Feasible Alternatives/Complements to SAT and ACT Test Scores?
September 29, 2020 (Tuesday)
Abstract
Most college admission decisions are based on past academic achievement and verbal and math ability on the assumption that these abilities will predict subsequent college academic grades and achievement. These measures do predict classroom achievement very well and they are psychometrically fair. However, our work with situational judgment and biodata measures indicates that these indices are valid, display smaller subgroup differences, and are perceived to be fair by various stakeholders. Several major universities have been reluctant to use these indices. In this presentation I will speculate some of the reasons for this reluctance and suggest other ways, provided by technology advances, to assess student potential.
Bio
Dr. Neal Schmitt is University Distinguished Professor and Dean of Social Sciences Emeritus at Michigan State University. Professor Schmitt’s recent research has been in personnel and selection and academic admissions. He has been developing procedures to assess college students’ ability and motivation in noncognitive domains that might predict their success in college. In these and other selection-related projects he is interested in the construct and predictive validity of our measures and the impact they have on the people who take the measures as well as the institutions that may use them in their decision making.