I’ll file this one under “duhhhh”. This study was already done with SAT scores, I don’t know why a different outcome would be expected.
“ These findings suggest that college admissions may be overemphasizing test scores,” seems to be a huge, unsupported guess. I see nothing in the description of the study that they examined how all colleges weigh GPA vs test scores and how they quantitatively evaluate “overemphasize”.
“ Extensive time spent preparing for standardized tests will have much less payoff for postsecondary success than effort put into coursework, as reflected in students’ grades,”. “Extensive time” preparing for tests in no way compares to the 4,000+ hours a student spends on coursework over high school, so I don’t know why this needs to be pointed out. Is anyone really stopping schoolwork and getting poor grades to spend time on SAT prep (if so, shame on them).
Isn’t it pretty common knowledge that HS grades and course rigor (“ school effects may be the result of more rigorous academic programs”) are the very top criteria used by a vast, vast majority of colleges? So schools’ top consideration are those that are most predictive. Makes sense.
It shows that a less-weighted component of an application is a less predictive tool. I would wager that this is true of all application components that aren’t as important as grades - essays, EC, etc., etc.
The statement that “some” or “many” schools show odd relationships sounds like cherry picking. If it was a majority, I’m sure it would be pointed out. When I have time I’ll try to hunt down the study and see how many there were.
If the inference is that a school shouldn’t use any criteria that aren’t the most predictive, then I can assume those that support this idea think a transcript and school profile are the only things that should be on a college application.