SAT Role in Admissions to Be Dissected

A wide-ranging discussion of the role of the SAT in UC admissions will be held at UCSB on Nov. 16-17 in Corwin Pavilion. On the last day, a free town-hall style meeting on University admissions procedures will be convened in Campbell Hall for the general public.

UC President Richard Atkinson is to be the conference keynote speaker and Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board, and Richard Ferguson, president of ACT, will be featured speakers at the Academic Senate-sponsored event. Panels are scheduled on topics such as the predictive validity of SAT I, SAT II, and ACT; the effects of preparing for the tests; race, class and gender factors in SAT performance; and alternatives to SAT for admissions criteria. By press time, 198 people had registered. "We have room for more," said Walter Yuen, co-chair of the conference titled "Rethinking the SAT in University Admissions."

Yuen, a professor of mechanical and environmental engineering, emphasized the informative value of the intercollegiate gathering to UCSB faculty members' future deliberations. "At some point we will have to decide about the value of the SAT in admissions," he said. On Oct. 31, the systemwide Assembly of the Academic Senate, meeting at UCLA, overwhelmingly supported the proposed concept of a "comprehensive review" in UC admissions. If approved, this would replace the present, tiered system with one set of admissions criteria applicable to all UC-eligible students.

Of special interest to local faculty, said co-chair Michael Brown, associate professor of education, will be his presentation of campus data using SAT I scores to predict first-year students' academic success. But, he pointed out, "we see the conference, which was Walter's idea, as a service to the entire UC community." UC has used the SAT as part of its admissions criteria for more than 40 years.

"Who Should Get into the University of California and How?" is the title of the meeting that caps the conference on Nov. 17 at 6:30 p.m. in Campbell Hall. Registration is still available on-line at www.ucsb.edu; details are obtainable from Marisela Marquez at x2204.