Study Says High School Grades are Best Predictor of College Success
The Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Education both report today on a new study comparing the predictive value of high school GPA and SAT scores. The study by UC Berkeley's Saul Geiser and Maria Veronica Santelices concludes that grades are better predictors of success throughout college than the SAT. The study authors conclude "High-school grades provide a fairer, more equitable, and ultimately more meaningful basis for admissions decision-making."
There were a few surprising results from the study:
- All of the information admissions officers currently have accounts for only 30 percent of the grade variance in colleges.
- The predictive value of high school grades goes up as students progress through college.
- Grades not only are the best tool to predict success, but don’t seem to favor the wealthy and some racial groups over others.


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