SAT to Give Students ‘Adversity Score’ to Capture Social and Economic Background

https://www.wsj.com/articles/sat-to-give-students-adversity-score-to-capture-social-and-economic-background-11557999000

The College Board plans to assign an adversity score to every student who takes the SAT.

This new number, called an adversity score by college admissions officers, is calculated using 15 factors including the crime rate and poverty levels from the student’s high school and neighborhood. Students won’t be told the scores, but colleges will see the numbers when reviewing their applications.

Fifty colleges used the score last year as part of a beta test. The College Board plans to expand it to 150 institutions this fall, and then use it broadly the following year.

White students scored an average of 177 points higher than black students and 133 points higher than Hispanic students in 2018 results. Asian students scored 100 points higher than white students. The children of wealthy and college-educated parents outperformed their classmates.

“The purpose is to get to race without using race,” said Anthony Carnevale. Mr. Carnevale formerly worked for the College Board and oversaw the Strivers program.

Submitted May 16, 2019 at 03:17PM by ineedmoresleep http://bit.ly/2Q98XXn