On the heels of a report from the ACT that found that only about half of ACT-takers are prepared for college, a new SAT report (PDF) finds that only 43 percent of SAT-takers are prepared for college success.
The report shows that 43 percent of students who took the SAT in the class of 2012 met the SAT College & Career Readiness Benchmark score of 1550. The score indicates a 65 percent likelihood of achieving a B- average or higher during the first year of study at a four-year college. According to the College Board, the makers of the SAT, research shows the SAT benchmark is “associated with higher rates of enrollment in four-year colleges, higher first-year college GPAs and higher rates of retention beyond the first year.” Based on this finding, the report advocates for greater rigor in schools, and applauds the shift to the Common Core standards.
The report also highlights the increasing diversity of SAT-takers. For the first time, nearly half of students who took the test were minority students, and 36 percent of test-takers indicated that their parents’ highest level of education was a high school diploma or less. However, the report does not share these students’ performance on the SAT.
Read the full report here (PDF).