SAT SCORES AND AMERICAN STATES: SEEKING FOR USEFUL MEANING

Despite difficulties, states frequently seek to compare their test performance with that of other states, or with the published national norms. All states have some students taking the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) exams for college admissions, but because the numbers vary widely, when the state means are made public by the College Boards, there is debate about their interpretation. Here the 50 state SAT means are the criterion in a multivariate model, together with the state variables of percent taking the SATs (very influential), percent of minority in the state, average income, unemployment rate, and per pupil expenditure. Regression is analyzed (without expenditure) to examine the state residuals compared with the "expected" scores. And briefly noted is the difficulty of using alternative tests for such comparisons, as these are currently normed, selected, and used.