AN EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIPS OF ACADEMIC COURSEWORK WITH ADMISSIONS TEST PERFORMANCE

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe redesigned Student Descriptive Questionnaire (SDQ) provides a great deal of background information about examinees sitting for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). One set of questions focuses on the number of years and types of courses in the students' academic background. This information makes it possible to explore the relationships between coursework and performance on the SAT. This study used data from the 1987 National Sample Tape, which contains SDQ responses and score information from 100,000 seniors in the class of 1987. The analyses examined the relationships between both the Admissions Testing Program (ATP) SAT and Achievement Test scores and the type and level of coursework in six academic areas. In order to provide a more accurate representation of these relationships, the data were adjusted to account for differences related to student academic achievement. The results show that coursework in the disciplines of mathematics, natural science, and foreign languages has the strongest adjusted relationships with SAT‐mathematical scores. SAT‐verbal scores appear to be most strongly related to the number of years of foreign language coursework. These relationships are generally consistent across ethnic groups and income levels. However, it appears that the relationships are stronger for students with higher grade‐point averages. The specific courses that seem to be most strongly related to SAT performance are upper‐level courses in mathematics, natural science, and foreign languages. The specific course relationships appear stronger for male than for female examinees. An analysis of Achievement Test data again indicates that upper‐level coursework in the three previously mentioned academic areas is most strongly related to performance on the Achievement Tests. All the research findings must be qualified because the study was exploratory. Student participation in the various courses was based solely on the motivation and the opportunity of the students to take the courses. As a result of this self‐selection, causal interpretations of the results are not appropriate.