UC system reconsiders value of SAT
An advisory panel at the University of California recommended last week that the university replace the SAT I admissions test with a "core achievement test," intended to better judge applicants' chances of success in college.The UC Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools concluded that aptitude tests such as the SAT I are less accurate indicators of future academic performance as a college freshman than are achievement tests such as the SAT II.Furthermore, according to the report issued by BOARS, the purported ability of the SAT to reveal the academic potential of students from disadvantaged backgrounds "is largely a phantom, at least at the University of California.""Our evidence from UC students indicates that the SAT II is a slightly better indicator of freshmen GPA than the SAT I," said Assistant Dean Dorothy Perry of the UC San Francisco School of Dentistry and lead author of the report.Chiara Coletti, vice president of public affairs for the College Board ? the group that administers the SAT ? said that while her organization was willing to work with the UC on developing a new test, it disagreed with the BOARS recommendation."Do we think [the change] is necessary?