Predictive Validity of the ACT Tests at Selective Colleges

ACT RESEARCH REPORTNo. 6969August 1975PREDICTIVE VALIDITY OF THE ACT TESTS AT SELECTIVE COLLEGESO. T. Leaningzo£2>Qu i5CLoTHE AMERICAN COLLEGE TESTING PROGRAMP. 0. BOX 168, IOWA CITY, IOWA 5224Q PREDICTIVE VALIDITY OF THE ACT TESTSAT SELECTIVE COLLEGESABSTRACTThree studies, each dealing with an aspect of comparative validity of ACT and SAT at selective colleges, are included. The first study considered the predictive efficiency of the ACT testscores and ACT test scores plus high school grades at 120 colleges, separated into three groups according to average college ACT Composite. Predictive efficiency was not found to vary appreciably at various points on the score scale. For40 colleges where the mean ACT Composite was 24.5 or higher, the median multiple R using the ACT test scores was .46 and using the ACT test scores plus high school grades was .58. By contrast, at the 40 colleges where the mean ACT Composite was 15.5 to 20.0, the median multiple R using the ACT test scores was .46 and using the ACT test scores plus high school grades was .56. The difference is negligible. The median correlation of .58 using ACT test scores and high school grades at selective colleges compares favorably with .54 reported in CEEB materials as the median correlation using SAT test scores and high school rank at colleges defined by the same level of selectivity. Further, when the 40 colleges with the high mean ACT Composites are analyzed more closely, there is notatendency for the predictive efficiency of ACT testscores and high school grades to decline as college mean ACT Composite goes up. The second study concerned four selective colleges where all students had taken boththe ACT andtheSAT. A tallfour of these colleges, the mean ACT Composite score was above 24.5; the mean SAT Total score was above 1200. In all four cases, the ACT test scores gave a better prediction of freshman overall Grade Point Average than did SAT. The median R with ACT was .407; with SAT, .316. The third study took place at the U.S. Air Force Academy, a highly selective institution. A focus of concern in this study was to correct for selection on one of the tests, in this casethe SAT, by designing the study in such a way that prior selection of students by the SAT would not be an extraneous factor in the analysis of the comparative predictive validity of ACT and SAT. Using the conventional formulas for correction, the comparison of correlation coefficients again favored the ACT over the SAT, .56 to .52 for Sample 1, and .51 to .43 for Sample 2. Finally, when CEEB Achievement tests in English and mathematics were added to the two SAT scores in a multiple, the R obtained was comparable toorbelowthatachieved by the ACT tests alone. The evidence in the three studies points to the conclusion that ACT and SAT scores typically yield similar results at selective colleges, and where they do not the ACT is usually favored with higher correlation coefficients. Prepared by the Research and Development DivisionThe American College Testing ProgramACT, a nonprofit organization, is an Equal Opportunity Employer.© 1975 by The American College Testing ProgramAll rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.For additional copies write:ACT PublicationsThe American College Testing Program P.O. Box 168, Iowa City, Iowa 52240(Check or money order must accompany request.) Price: $1.00Order No. 4-7-69 Oscar T. Lenning1PREDICTIVE VALIDITY OF THE ACT TESTS AT SELECTIVE COLLEGESWhen The American College Testing Program (ACT), with its college admissions and guidance battery, was introduced at the beginning of the last decade, some college educators were concerned about whether this new battery would predict freshman grades as well as older examinations such as the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT). The consensus of studies published since that time, however, has been that the ACT Assessment predicts grades for typical college populations generally as effectively as or better than the SAT battery (Boyce & Paxson, 1965; Burns, 1964; Chase, et al., 1963a, 1963b; Lins, Abell, & Hutchins, 1966; Lenning & Maxey, 1972; Munday, 1965; Passons, 1967; Zimmerman & Michael, 1967). Furthermore, by 1971 more than 2,000 higher education institutions were participating in the ACT Program (The American CollegeTesting Program, 1971, p. 3).In spite of the general acceptance of the ACT Assessment, one question has not been answered to everyone’s satisfaction. Although they would agree that ACT is as efficient a predictoras SAT for typical colleges, it has been the subjective contention of some that ACT should not predict as well as SAT for highly selective colleges having a preponderance of students with exceptional academic ability. There has been no objecti