Question.1856 - As we learned in Chapter 4, SAT (standardized assessment tool) scores reflect a normal distribution and represent scores in the mid, upper, and lower percentiles. While GPA and extracurricular grades matter, standardized tests like the SAT still hold a lot of weight when it comes to admissions decisions ... especially at the more elite institutions. Take a few minutes and explore this siteLinks to an external site. to see what SAT scores it takes to be competitive for college admission. Play around with the numbers. Where can you land with a score of 800 vs. 1600. What types of institutions require higher SAT scores? For this discussion post, I invite you to reflect on the importance of statistics - specifically the normal distribution - for college admissions decisions. In addition, I would like to challenge each of you to think about barriers that students might face to achieving higher SAT scores. Consider how the importance of SAT scores may not only be a gateway to admission into elite universities but also systematically designed to open doors for some and close doors for others.
Answer Below:
After visiting the website, initially, I tried putting 800 as the SAT Score. From the data I got, I observed that 800 is a bad low score as it is situated in the bottom 9th percentile nationally. This score may limit options for college admissions, as it falls below the average range for most institutions. However, there are still 29 U.S. colleges where application may be competitive, particularly those that historically accept students with lower SAT scores. Next, to compare it, another SAT Score of 1600 was given. From this data, I observed that a score of 1600 on the SAT places a student within the top 99th percentile nationally. This suggests that students will be accepted into different colleges. Even though many students want to achieve higher SAT scores, obstacles like socioeconomic status, cultural bias, and test-taking resources keep them from doing so. The importance of standardized tests like the SAT in college admissions decisions underscores the role of statistics, particularly the normal distribution, in evaluating student performance and potential.More Articles From Statistics