This is an age-old question regarding which scale is better to measure a student's intelligence from, an ACT/SAT score or GPA? There are arguments for/against both sides. ACT/SAT scores are rigorous tests taken over several mentally-depleting hours, and may not accurately represent a student's knowledge base. While a student's GPA is a long-term measurement of consistency and dedication to class work. Counter to these arguments, ACT/SAT scores are the only real measurement of a student's intelligence because that is the nature of a test, to test what students know. GPA only shows effort in the classroom, and not necessarily the level of intelligence for a student. So which arguments are right or wrong? Which one is a better measure of a student's intelligence? We can attempt to answer this question by looking at what both of these measures are typically used for; admittance to college.
My four sources all focused around the use of ACT/SAT and GPA scores in college applications, and how much weight they bear in importance to admission. Three of the sources compared and contrasted pros and cons of the ACT/SAT and GPA measurements while the fourth source listed cons for using standardized testing. The three comparative sources all agreed that standardized test scores are the main factor for accepting/denying students to a college or university. The leading reason for this is because GPA scores are generally inconsistent from school district to school district. A 4.0 from a poorer school district may be comparable to a 2.5 from a high-class school district. This is because wealthier school districts can generally offer more rigorous courses, such as upper-level math and science classes as well as AP courses. These will be more intellectually challenging courses and will typically weigh down on a student's GPA. With no real way of knowing whether a student's 4.0 GPA is a 'real' 4.0, colleges like to rely on standardized test scores because they are consistent across the board for everyone.
However, the Dean of Admissions at Bates College, William Hiss, claims that GPA is the primary indicator of intelligence. Hiss conducted a study of his own, and tracked the graduation rates of students who submitted their standardized test scores to universities vs those that did not. He found that there was virtually no difference between the two groups, showing that academic success was not necessarily linked to a test score.
“The human mind is simply so complex and so multifaceted and fluid, that trying to find a single measurement tool that will be reliable across the enormous populations of American students is simply a trip up a blind alley. I would never say the SATs and ACTs have no predictive value for anybody; they have predictive value for some people. We just don’t find them reliable cross populations,” says Hiss.
I personally believe that both GPA and ACT/SAT scores should have equal weight when applying for college. Standardized testing isn't for everyone, and is certainly not an accurate measuring tool for those that struggle with that type of environment. However, if those types of students are consistently completing classroom work requirements they will have a boosted GPA and be more competitive when applying for college.
Sources:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/nail-biting-standardized-testing-may-miss-mark-college-students/
https://www.powerscore.com/act/help/act-vs-gpa.cfm
http://education.seattlepi.com/test-scores-vs-gpa-getting-elite-schools-2804.html
http://classroom.synonym.com/college-admissions-gpa-weight-vs-standardized-test-10825.html
Interesting topic! It's also one that is close to home for me with three of my five children in college.
ReplyDeleteI think I know what you are saying, yet instead of the word intelligence in this post I would replace each occurrence with the word achievement. The assessments all mentioned here are achievement tests. Intelligence is the 'potential' to learn, based on brain connections, genetics, etc. Achievement is how well one memorizes and studies content and learns it.
I know of genius level IQ students who, for various reasons, did not get a high GPA score, and did ok on the ACT, while some with exceptionally high IQs do stellar on the ACT, yet have lower GPAs, since this has to do with turning in assignments and studying for tests.
Assuming you meant achievement, I agree with how poor a measure some things are, and what about class rank with universities putting so much weight on it, when one student has 10 AP classes completed and is 445 in their class and is #48 (just missed top 10%), while another is in the top 10% of a class of 200 with one AP class taken. It makes no sense to me where they put the weight for decision making in this area. Having said that, there is no perfect measure and way to tell who will be successful.