A long-term analysis of SAT scores by Saul Geiser published by the Center for Studies in Higher Education at the University of California at Berkeley has found that, among applicants to the University of California, race and ethnicity have become stronger predictors of SAT scores than family income and parental education levels. The study found that all three factors–race/ethnicity, family income and parental education levels–predict one-third of the variance in SAT scores among otherwise similar students. Geiser found that the adverse racial impact of SAT scores is far out of proportion with their limited capacity to predict how applicants will perform in college. The study can be found at:
For more research regarding the negative impact of the SAT on students of color and students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, see the NCTE report The Impact of the SAT and ACT Timed Writing Tests at:
https://secure.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Positions/SAT-ACT-tf-report.pdf