June 11, 2004

SAT Scores 'Launder' Backgrounds of Students, Study Finds

By ERIC HOOVER

In the debate over the use of the SAT in college admissions, both sides agree that there is a strong correlation between any two of the following three factors: a student's score on the test, his background, and his academic performance in college.

But then the questions about the causal relationships among those factors get tricky. Does the SAT directly measure a student's preparedness for college, which happens to correlate with background factors, including race and family income?

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