Posts published on February 16, 2010

Reader Feedback on Whether ACT or SAT Are Valid Measures For College Selection

In recent post I cited advice from Montgomery County Md. Schools  where the school system recommended certain cut points on ACT or SAT as a guide for college admission at selective institutions. Montgomery County is trying to help students understand what the colleges are looking for on SAT/ ACT , but no one really knows what the right cut scores are. Most  colleges do not use a cut score and consider many factors for admissions. The private colleges are not transparent ,and will take students with low scores in order to fill their classes ,or enroll students with particular talents they want.  Public colleges in many states give some guidance on desired scores , but it is impossible to monitor whether these designated scores are not pushed aside for various desired students.

 In my experience most students and parents think there is a cut score and there is not. Parents and students think test scores are more important than they really are for admission. But the whole issue of what minimum test score is needed , or gurantees admission, remains a mystery story to me.