I've been following the discussion regarding GPA, admissions, etc., with a
great deal of interest. As some of you know, I'm employed at Educational
Testing Service (ETS), home to the AP, SAT, GMAT, GRE, TOEFL and a host of
other tests known by their initials. I do not have but I will try to obtain
the precise statistical data, however, the generalizations I hear mentioned
from time to time are these:
There is no correlation between SAT scores and later success in life.
About the only thing a high SAT score predicts is academic success in the
first year of undergraduate study.
I've heard it said that a person's SAT scores are every bit as good a
predictor of his or her success in graduate school as his GRE or GMAT
scores, but I have yet to pin that one down.
GPA is not as good a predictor of first-year academic success as a high SAT
score, and a high SAT score coupled with a high GPA is a better predictor
than either alone.
As a caveat, keep in mind that I am not a psychologist, statistician, or
psychometrician, so don't take my comments above as authoritative. However,
for what they are worth, I will try to dig up the "official" numbers on such
issues and see what they say.
Regards,
Fred Nickols
nickols@worldnet.att.net