High school students sweat taking the SAT (Student Aptitude Test) exam because they are keenly aware of its impact on college acceptance and success. But research conducted by Dr. Trey Asbury’s Psychology and Social Work 330 Research Methods class at Campbell University concludes that the SAT is just one of many factors that can make or break a successful college career. Summarized in an article, “Factors Influencing Collegiate GPA: A Survey of College Students,” the students’ research is being considered for publication in the “Journal for Undergraduate Research,” a national publication of the Psi Chi national honor society for psychology majors.As a research instrument, students Billy Boyce, Vance Matthews and Jessica Wieland administered a survey to 259 undergraduate students at Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C. Of the 259 students, 41.2 percent were male and 58.8 percent were female. A total of 86.9 percent classified themselves as “white” ethnicity and the three most common majors were religion, pharmacy and psychology.The survey examined high school grade point averages, SAT scores, study habits, leisure activities, extracurricular activities, overall health and satisfaction with living conditions such as study facilities, college location, professors and advisors and course of study, among others. It used the first semester GPA as the mean to indicate academic success since a cumulative college GPA would include the ability to adjust and adapt over time.Analysis of the survey results revealed that while the SAT is a predictor of college performance, other variables such as lifestyle, environment and high school GPA combined with SAT scores are stronger predictors of college success than SAT scores alone. The study also corroborated other studies indicating that males have a higher mean SAT score, while females have a higher mean GPA. The indications of this finding might suggest that the SAT has weak external validity between gender, meaning that the questions are slanted in a way that males are more apt to correctly answer them, or that men in general are able to perform better than women on standardized tests. More tests would be needed to validate either of these suggestions.”While I served as faculty advisor for this project, the students were involved in all aspects including design and analysis,” said Asbury. “They recruited subjects and collected and input all the data themselves, and I helped them analyze and interpret the results. The implications of their work are extensive. I commend them for an outstanding study.”
Research on efficacy of SAT leads to surprising conclusions