Guidelines on the Uses of College Board Test Scores and Related Data

Guidelines on

the Uses of

College Board

Test Scores and

Related Data

1 Purpose

About These Guidelines

Guidelines

For the College Board

For Institutions, Agencies, and Organizations

K–12 Instructional Planning and Counseling

Recruiting and Marketing

Admission (Individual Institutions or University Systems), or Scholarship/Recognition

Program Eligibility

Placement and Credit

Using Aggregate Scores

A Note on the Use of Aggregate SAT data

Appendix A: Examples of Uses of College Board Test Scores

and Related Data That Should Be Encouraged

13 Appendix B: Examples of Uses of College Board Test Scores

and Related Data That Should Be Avoided

Contents

Purpose

These guidelines are designed to assist users and others interested in College Board

tests and related data, with the most helpful, fair, and proper use of the tests and data.

The guidelines were originally developed by the membership of the College Board and

are periodically reviewed and revised to ensure they remain accurate and relevant.

These guidelines are created to:

§ Describe how the College Board interprets its own responsibilities in relation to the

public and test users, as well as what it considers the responsibilities of the users

to be;

§ State the conditions the College Board regards as appropriate for use of its tests; and

§ Provide guidance on how College Board test scores and related data can be used to

improve educational decisions.

Purpose

About These Guidelines

The College Board has long shared the public’s interest in the appropriate use of tests

and has been a leader in the movement to raise educational quality and maintain high

academic standards. The educationally sound use of college entrance test scores,

examination grades, placement results, and related information is an important

component in the College Board’s mission to extend educational equity and excellence

to an ever-growing number of students. With that mission in mind, the College Board

has developed this document to offer guidelines on the appropriate uses of test results.

All College Board assessments and related services are covered by these guidelines.

Among the major programs addressed are:

§ ACCUPLACER

§ Advanced Placement Program

(AP

)

§ College-Level Examination Program

(CLEP

)

§ Prueba de Aptitud Académica (PAA

™

)

§ SAT Suite of Assessments

w P SAT

™

8/9

w P SAT

™

w PSAT/NMSQT

(Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test)

w SAT

w SAT Subject Tests

™

§ Student Search Service

These guidelines highlight the beneficial uses of test scores and related data and advise

users about the tests’ limitations. Users are encouraged to consider scores in conjunction

with other factors such as students’ grades, courses taken, cocurricular activities, writing

samples, personal statements, interviews, portfolios, and recommendations when making

admission decisions.

Because the decisions and judgments influenced by test scores may have significant

personal and social consequences, users should avoid practices that might limit

educational opportunities for certain groups of students. The College Board strongly

encourages users to conduct validation studies in order to determine and review the

best combinations of factors in making educational decisions. Integrating the guidelines

into the decision-making process will help ensure that test scores and related data are

used appropriately from both an ethical and educational standpoint.

Test scores have long proved very useful in helping admission and placement staff

and other educators to better understand and interpret students’ qualifications and

preparation. Students in secondary schools throughout the United States experience

vastly different educational models and grading systems. In many situations, test

results provide the only consistent and objective measure of students’ abilities and

achievement in specific areas.

About These Guidelines

All College Board examinations are constructed to measure specific content or skills,

and appropriate use of test scores is closely related to their purpose and overall content.

The College Board reminds users to determine whether a test it plans to use actually

covers the material students should know and skills they want students to demonstrate.

Throughout these guidelines, users are cautioned not to “overuse” test results, by

interpreting scores either too broadly or too precisely, and are encouraged to remember

that test results are rarely absolute measurements.

The College Board has found that most test uses can be counted on to provoke at

least some debate about their merits or limitations. The disagreements sometimes

are based on differences in the specific circumstances of a particular use. Judgments

about using test scores to screen applicants, for example, may be influenced by such

considerations as how valid the tests are as predictors, how feasible it is to use other

information instead of, or in addition to, the scores, and how many students are involved.

The technical issues raised, however, are often of less significance than are questions

of public policy and institutional prerogatives.

To guarantee and maintain quality and utility, College Board examinations and other

services are regularly and rigorously reviewed and updated. The College Board remains

committed to promoting the best use of tests and data by providing comprehensive

information about each product and how it is intended to be used. More information on

many of the topics covered in the guidelines is available at the College Board’s online

Research section and in specific program publications and technical data provided at

research.collegeboard.org.

While it is strongly recommended that College Board tests and related data be used in a

manner consistent with these guidelines, this publication does not represent a scientific

blueprint for action applicable to every situation. Therefore, comments, inquiries, and

suggestions on how to better use or improve the use of College Board test results

are welcome.

About These Guidelines

Guidelines

1. For the College Board

The College Board should:

1.1 Adhere to the highest standards in the development and administration of its

tests and related services, giving careful attention to such generally accepted

standards as those embodied in Standards for Educational and Psychological

Testing (2014),

promulgated by the American Educational Research Association,

the American Psychological Association, and the National Council on

Measurement in Education.

1.2 Provide the users of its assessments—counselors, admission officers, middle and

secondary school teachers, community college and university faculty members

and administrators, and test takers themselves—with full information about the

purposes and nature of these assessments and related services.

1.3 Through periodic professional development activities, as well as publications, the

internet, and other media, advise educational institutions, agencies, and the public

of the purposes, appropriate uses, and limitations of its tests and related services,

and explain the responsibilities users should exercise.

1.4 Provide test takers with a complete description of the content and types of

questions included on the tests they will be taking and, where appropriate, provide

practice materials, such as practice questions or a complete sample practice test.

1.5 Encourage appropriate use of its tests and related services by publishing

information essential to the proper use and understanding of the assessments;

provide research services to evaluate the validity of admission and placement

procedures; regularly communicate and consult with institutions and agencies

that use the services; and provide timely advice and assistance to users of

College Board data.

1.6 Maintain tests that are current and relevant to the domains they measure and

engage faculty members from diverse backgrounds, as well as from both

secondary and postsecondary levels, as appropriate, in the construction and

review of the tests.

1.7 Ensure fairness and sensitivity to all students regardless of age, race, creed,

color, sex, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability,

or socioeconomic status through special reviews of test questions.

1.8 Seek to inform those who set national, state, and local policy about appropriate

uses of test scores and related data.

1.9 Maintain procedures for each of its testing programs for collecting advice

and feedback from students, as well as from institutions and professional

organizations, about the quality and adequacy of the services provided.

1. American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, and National Council on

Measurement in Education. Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. Washington, DC: American

Educational Research Association, 2014.

Guidelines

1.10 Develop and implement standard procedures for security and test administration

to ensure that all students have the same opportunities to demonstrate their

abilities and so that users can feel confident that scores were earned under

similar conditions.

1.11 Maintain effective procedures for protecting the privacy of individual test takers,

never releasing information that serves to identify them without their consent.

1.12 Respect the interests of educational institutions and other organizations,

releasing identifiable aggregated data about them only to individuals or agencies

authorized to receive such information.

1.13 Maintain effective procedures for verifying the scores of test takers who

question the accuracy of their scores and for responding with care to

students’ queries or concerns about particular test questions or test

administration procedures.

1.14 Establish policies for each program about the length of time that scores are valid,

and when releasing older scores, include a cautionary statement indicating that

such scores may not be a reliable indication of current abilities.

2. For Institutions, Agencies, and Organizations

Middle and secondary schools, community colleges, four-year colleges, universities,

scholarship agencies, and other educational organizations should:

2.1 Assign responsibilities involving test use to people knowledgeable about

educational measurement, including purpose, content, reliability, validity, scaling,

equating, norming, concorded scores, statistical characteristics, capabilities,

and limitations of any test in use or under consideration.

2.2 Support training and other professional development opportunities for test

users to assure they remain up to date about test content, score interpretation,

and related issues.

2.3 Inform test takers about why tests are required or recommended, when they are

offered, and how the scores will be used, as applicable.

2.4 Protect the privacy of test takers by treating the scores and other information

derived from the tests they take confidentially, bearing in mind the additional

considerations involved with electronic transmission and the potential for

retransmission.

2.5 Use College Board test scores and related data with discretion and for purposes

that are appropriate and in ways that have been validated and in ways that are

consistent with the applicable guidelines in the remaining sections.

2. See also Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, “Responsibility for test use should be assumed

by or delegated only to those individuals who have the training, professional credentials, and/or experience

necessary to handle this responsibility. All special qualifications for test administration or interpretation

specified in the test manual should be met.” Standard 9.1.

3. See also Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, “When a test is to be used for a purpose for

which little or no validity evidence is available, the user is responsible for documenting the rationale for the

selection of the test and obtaining evidence of the reliability/precision of the test scores and the validity of

the interpretations supporting the use of the scores for this purpose.” Standard 9.4.

Guidelines

2.6 Adopt procedures to ensure that, when test scores are used as a screening

mechanism to identify potential candidates, other relevant information, including

the secondary school record, is considered in the final selection of recipients.

2.7 Guard against the release or forwarding to third parties of College Board scores or

student transcripts that include this information.

3. K–12 Instructional Planning and Counseling

Educators should:

3.1 Advise students on what tests they may need to take in pursuing their educational

objectives; when and where they might conveniently take the tests in view of

institutional requirements, testing schedules, and their own personal schedules;

and how to interpret their scores in the context of their own situations.

3.2 Explain the limitations, as well as the intended purposes of College Board

examinations: that the results are estimates that contain a small amount of

measurement error and should be treated as such; that scores should be

interpreted as ranges rather than points; and that admission test scores are

useful as one means of predicting academic performance in college when

considered with other relevant information.

3.3 Inform students that placement test scores are intended to be used by colleges

and universities to help evaluate eligibility for either proper course placement,

advanced placement, or college-level course credit.

3.4 Inform students that admission test scores are intended to be used by colleges

and universities as supplementary to secondary school records and other relevant

information, with the scores providing a useful uniform measure for all students,

in contrast to school records, which vary widely because of different grading

practices.

3.5 Inform students with disabilities who have been receiving accommodations in

school of accommodations available for testing and where they should apply

for them.

3.6 Understand how to use data from College Board tests to provide information to

students about course selection, college majors, and careers.

3.7 Release the scores and other information derived from a test a student takes

only with the student’s explicit consent, if the student could be identified from the

released information.

3.8 Encourage all potential college-bound students to take appropriate admission or

placement tests, without regard to the possibility of raising or lowering the school

or district average.

4. The College Board’s accommodations request process, including criteria, is explained on the College Board

Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) website at collegeboard.org/ssd.

Guidelines

4. Recruiting and Marketing

When College Board tests and related data are used for recruiting or marketing

purposes, including but not limited to via Student Search Service, the responsible

officials should:

4.1 Adhere to generally accepted ethical standards in the recruitment of students for

the institution.

4.2 Identify the College Board program (e.g., Student Search Service, SAT, AP, etc.)

providing the contact information in the initial communication with the student.

4.3 Use the provided information solely for their own purposes, and in compliance

with applicable program terms and conditions.

4.4 Provide prospective applicants with relevant and helpful information about the 

characteristics of all admitted and enrolled students, including those in specific

academic programs.

4.5 Provide complete information to prospective applicants regarding admission 

requirements, procedures, and deadlines. Inform students who submit multiple

scores for the same assessment (both SAT and SAT Subject Tests or AP Exams) how

these scores will be used in the admission process (e.g., highest, latest, average).

5. Admission (Individual Institutions or University

Systems) or Scholarship/Recognition Program

Eligibility

When College Board tests and related data are used for admission, retention, or

scholarship/recognition program purposes, either by individual institutions or

systems or groups of colleges, the responsible officials and selection committee

members should:

5.1 Know enough about tests and test data to ensure that their proper uses and

limitations are understood and applied.

5.2 Use SAT and other scores in conjunction with other indicators, such as the

secondary school record (grades and courses), interviews, personal statements,

writing samples, portfolios, recommendations, etc., in evaluating the applicant’s

admissibility at a particular institution.

5.3 View admission test scores as approximate indicators reflecting a point in

time rather than as fixed and exact measures of a student’s preparation for

college-level work.

5.4 Evaluate test results and other information about applicants in the context of their

particular background and experience, as well as in the context of the programs

they intend to pursue.

5.5 Ensure that small differences in test scores are not the basis for rejecting an

otherwise qualified applicant.

Guidelines

5.6 Guard against using minimum test scores unless used in conjunction with

other information such as secondary school performance and unless properly

validated. An exception to this guideline is that institutions may establish, based

on empirical data, specific score levels that reflect desired skill competencies,

such as English language proficiency.

5.7 Validate data used in the selection process, both for the individual institution and

appropriate system or group studies, regularly to ensure their continuing relevance.

5.8 Maintain adequate procedures for protecting the confidentiality of test scores

and other admission data.

5.9 When introducing or revising admission or program eligibility policies, allow

sufficient lead time and provide adequate notice to schools and students, so that

they can take the new policies into account when planning school programs and

curricular offerings, and preparing for admission tests and other requirements.

5.10 Before determining the admission or eligibility policies to be adopted for the

group or system of colleges or scholarship or recognition programs, allow

sufficient time and opportunity for representatives of the individual institutions

to consider and discuss possible policies and to suggest alternative policies,

especially as these relate to their institutions.

5.11 For information on the measurement and statistical characteristics, please refer

to program-specific technical manuals as applicable.

6. Placement and Credit

When College Board tests are used for placement and credit purposes, the

responsible officials should:

6.1 Determine the appropriateness of particular tests through consultation with

faculty members familiar with the content of the tests and the content of aligned

courses at the institution.

6.2 Establish standards appropriate to the performance levels and ranges of their

enrolled students.

6.3 Accept the transfer of credits earned by examination at a previous institution in

the same manner as transfer credit for coursework from said previous institution.

6.4 Publicize their placement and credit policies, making clear which tests are used,

how students gain access to them, what scores are required, how much credit

may be awarded for each examination, whether an exam score can lead to

advanced placement as opposed to credit, whether or not credits granted meet

degree or major requirements, and how much total credit may be obtained.

6.5 Establish standards regarding the length of time that scores may be considered

valid for use in placement and/or credit-granting decisions and the norms used

for interpretation when setting placement and credit policies.

5. See also Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, “Validity,” Section 1, 11–31.

Guidelines

6.6 Periodically validate examinations and standards used for placement and credit to

ensure their continuing relevance.

6.7 If additional fees are charged for credits awarded by examination, establish such

fees at levels that represent actual costs involved in providing this avenue to

credit rather than instructional costs or other unrelated costs.

7. Using Aggregate Scores

Educators, the media, and others should:

7.1 Use aggregate scores in conjunction with other factors such as the number

of courses taken in academic subjects, targeting areas for increased teacher

development, attention, and focus in curriculum, applying tools such as

instructional planning reports, vertical score scales, and benchmarks, retention/

attrition rates, or graduation rates and other outcome measures for:

§ Evaluation of the general direction in which education in a particular

jurisdiction is headed

§ Curriculum development

§ Faculty staffing

§ Student recruitment

§ Planning for physical facilities

§ Student services such as guidance and placement

Guidelines

A Note on the Use of

Aggregate SAT data

As measures of developed Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (ERW) and Math

abilities that are important for success in college, SAT scores are useful in making

decisions about individual students and assessing their academic preparation.

Because of the increasing public interest in educational accountability, aggregate test

data continue to be widely publicized and analyzed. Under the federal Every Student

Succeeds Act, states are successfully using the SAT as the statewide assessment for

school accountability.

Each assessment in the SAT Suite of Assessments has an associated set of metrics

called the college and career readiness benchmarks. These metrics are tools developed

to help administrators, teachers, parents, and students understand whether students

have mastered the knowledge, skills, and understandings needed to be successful

in college. The SAT benchmarks offer a measure of whether a student is prepared to

succeed in college, while the PSAT-related assessments benchmarks measure whether

students are on target to meet the SAT benchmark and, thus, on track to being prepared

for college. The SAT College and Career Readiness Benchmarks represent the minimum

scores on the ERW and Math sections that are associated with having a high likelihood

of earning at least a C in relevant credit-bearing, introductory college-level courses.

Students who meet both the ERW and Math benchmarks on the SAT are ready to

succeed in college-level coursework. The benchmarks for the SAT Suite of Assessments

are intended to help monitor the academic progress of a student or groups of students as

they prepare for college and careers. When necessary, interventions can be introduced

to help students get on track to graduate high school prepared for college-level work.

Many states choose to give the SAT to all of their students as part of the school day,

which research shows increases college-going rates. However, it is important to note

that many College Board tests are taken only by particular groups of self-selected

students. Therefore, aggregate results of their performance on these tests usually

do not reflect the educational attainment of all students in a school, district, or state.

Useful comparisons of students’ performance are possible only if all students take the

same test. Average SAT scores are not appropriate for state comparisons because

the percentage of SAT takers varies widely among states. In some states, a very small

percentage of college-bound seniors take the SAT. Typically, these students have strong

academic backgrounds and are applicants to the nation’s most selective colleges and

scholarship programs. Therefore, it is expected that the SAT Evidence-Based Reading

and Writing and Math scale score averages reported for these states will be higher than

the overall average. In states where a greater proportion of students, with a wide range of

academic backgrounds, take the SAT, and where most colleges in the state require the test

for admission, the scores are closer to the overall average.

In looking at average SAT scores, the user must understand the context in which the

particular test scores were earned. Other factors shown to be related to performance

on the SAT include academic courses studied in high school, family background, and

education of parents.

A Note on the Use of Aggregate SAT data

Appendix A

Examples of uses of College Board test scores and related data that should be

encouraged:

1. Utilizing College Board test scores to provide additional context to better

understand other information (such as grades and courses taken) in a student’s

transcript.

2. Awarding advanced placement and/or college credit for established minimum

scores on examinations such as AP and CLEP.

3. Reviewing student performance on College Board tests with individual students,

parents, and teachers in order to help everybody understand the student’s

strengths and challenge areas.

4. Using test results to identify, in advance, students at risk, to assist with retention

and persistence support.

5. Helping students understand how their scores on standardized assessments,

such as the SAT, relate to all other test takers on the same assessment and to the

applicant pools at institutions the student is considering.

6. Using standardized assessment scores (for example, from the SAT, Advanced

Placement Program, ACCUPLACER, or CLEP) to conduct unique, institutionally

based research to identify which of those characteristics used in decision making

predict success in course placement or in freshman or long-term performance best.

7. Using placement test results, such as those provided by ACCUPLACER, AP, or

CLEP, to ensure that students enroll in appropriate courses and that developmental

support is provided to students who need it.

8. Incorporating information about student performance on the SAT and AP Exams

into high school profiles to provide the local community, as well as colleges, a

context in which to understand students’ scores and transcript information in

addition to data about student socioeconomic status.

9. Providing information about institutional test scores in print, online, and through

other communications, so students and families understand the full range of

characteristics of applicants and admitted and enrolled students.

10. Sharing score reports, especially aggregate reports that assess specific academic

performances, with teachers to assist instructional needs and planning.

11. Using test scores and accompanying proficiency information from the PSAT 8/9,

PSAT 10, PSAT/NMSQT, SAT, and ACCUPLACER as an early identification system

for college-bound students or as an early intervention tool for students in need of

additional academic preparation.

12. Using test scores, such as those from the PSAT/NMSQT, as a predictor of readiness

for AP Exams.

13. Viewing AP scores, SAT scores (from both the SAT and Subject Tests), and other

standardized testing results as a way to identify a student’s strengths when

evaluating admission applications.

Appendix A

14. Utilizing multiple criteria when advising students about AP opportunities (e.g., prior

grades and courses, PSAT/NMSQT scores, teacher recommendations, and

student motivation).

15. Utilizing information from the SAT and PSAT/NMSQT (particularly the Question

Analysis and Instructional Planning reports) to improve instruction by relating

information about the skills measured on these tests and state or local standards.

16. Utilizing the SAT as the statewide assessment for federal accountability under the

Every Student Succeeds Act.

Appendix A

Appendix B

Examples of uses of College Board test scores and related data that should be

avoided:

1. Encouraging the belief that College Board tests measure a person’s worth as a

human being.

2. Using test scores as the sole basis for important decisions affecting the lives of

individuals, when other information of equal or greater relevance and the resources

for using such information are available.

3. Using minimum cut scores on tests without proper validation.

4. Making decisions about otherwise qualified students based only on small

differences in test scores.

5. Using scores without appropriate consideration to their validity.

6. Providing inadequate or misleading information about the importance of test

scores in making judgments or decisions.

7. Requiring or recommending that certain tests be taken when the scores are not

used or are used to a negligible extent.

8. Failing to recognize differences in admission standards and requirements that

may exist among different schools or departments within many institutions when

providing information to prospective applicants.

9. Discouraging certain students from taking tests in an effort to increase a school’s or

district’s average score.

10. Rejecting a student’s application for transfer on the basis of SAT scores received

2 or 3 years prior when the student has since maintained a strong academic record.

11. Using College Board tests as a sole indicator of the overall performance of students,

teachers, educational institutions, districts, states, and other groups, except for

those states in which all students are tested.

12. Ranking states, districts, schools, and other institutions solely by aggregate AP

Exam or SAT scores, except for those states in which all students are tested.

Appendix B

About the College Board

The College Board is a mission-driven not-for-profit organization that

connects students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900,

the College Board was created to expand access to higher education. Today,

the membership association is made up of over 6,000 of the world’s leading

educational institutions and is dedicated to promoting excellence and equity

in education. Each year, the College Board helps more than seven million

students prepare for a successful transition to college through programs

and services in college readiness and college success—including the SAT

and the Advanced Placement Program

. The organization also serves the

education community through research and advocacy on behalf of students,

educators, and schools.

For further information, visit collegeboard.org.

Program, AP, CLEP, College-Level Examination Program, SAT, Student Search

Service, and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of the College Board.

PAA, PSAT, and SAT Subject Tests are trademarks owned by the College Board.

PSAT/NMSQT is a registered trademark of the College Board and National Merit

Scholarship Corporation. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

Visit the College Board on the web: collegeboard.org. 00946-008