Synthesis of Recent SAT Validity Findings: Trend Data over Time and Cohorts. Research in Review 2014-1

In March 2005, substantial revisions were made to the SAT, to better align test specifications with K-12 curriculum (Lawrence, Rigol, Van Essen & Jackson, 2003). Over the last five years, the College Board has made a concerted effort to collect higher education outcome data to document evidence of the validity of the SAT for use in college admission in light of these changes to the test specifications. Due to this large-scale data collection initiative, numerous reports have been released documenting the validity of the SAT for use in college admission. However, the information is siloed within individual reports, making it particularly difficult to synthesize the results and get a sense of the main take-away points. The purpose of the current report is to summarize the research findings from the various reports into a single document, illuminating patterns across cohorts and years. The document will serve as an overview of the research done to date, in a straightforward, easily digestible manner. The report relies heavily on graphical representations of the data to elucidate the main findings; however, data in tabular form are also provided in appendices for interested readers.