Evaluating SAT Coaching

For students planning to apply to a four-year college, scores on standardized admissions tests take on a great deal of importance. It may be the quality and quantity of an applicant’s high school coursework that receives the closest scrutiny at the more prestigious institutions, but these are cumulative indicators of performance. The scores from standardized admissions tests, by contrast, are the product of no more than about three hours of student effort. Such tests are blind to a student’s high school record—instead, they are intended as an independent, objective measure of college readiness. For students with a strong high school record, admissions tests provide a way to confirm their standing. For students with a weaker high school record, admissions tests provide a way to raise their standing. A principal justification for the use of the SAT I in the admissions process is that the test is designed to be insensitive to the high school curriculum and to short-term test preparation. ¹ If short-term preparatory activities prior to taking the SAT can have the effect of significantly boosting the scores of students above those they would have received without the preparation, the validity of the tests as indicators of college readiness might be called into question.