Business leaders argue against the SAT

American business leaders are urging college administrators to de-emphasize the role of the SAT in evaluating applicants, claiming the exam is biased and a poor predictor of future success. In a strongly worded letter, executives from companies such as Gillette and Verizon Communications, led by the National Urban League, argued Wednesday that the test does not help predict students' career success. "In corporate America, we routinely place bets on people, including many top-flight executives, who may not have excelled 'on paper,' but who demonstrated the leadership, grit and determination needed to succeed," the letter read. The letter coincides with the release of a study from the National Urban League in which 96 percent of the business executives surveyed felt that standardized test scores are "not very important" to succeed in business. "I think we're all in agreement here," said Chiara Coletti, vice president of public affairs at the College Board, which writes and administers the SAT. "They're urging schools to use the test in a balanced way. That's what the College Board advocates -- it always has." Debate on the SAT's aptness in judging students' abilities arose most recently when the University of California announced in February that it may stop requiring the test of applicants. Despite the recent letter, Penn Dean of Admissions Lee Stetson said that the University's admissions policy will remain in its current form. "Penn has no plan for changing the use of SATs as a measure of many measures in the admissions process," he said. Stetson also said he had not yet received the letter, but that it might be forthcoming or in the hands of another Penn administrator. The Urban League's campaign does not promote entirely eliminating the SAT, but rather using more indicative testing and criteria in admissions. "We are writing to urge you to stop the over-reliance on college entrance exams and to use admissions tools that better measure the qualities that truly point to a student's potential for achieving future success within -- and beyond -- the classroom," the letter reads. Seepy Basili, vice president for Learning and Assessment at test-preparation company Kaplan, Inc. said he applauds the Urban League for bringing new voices into the discussion about the SAT, but feels their campaign does not address the real intentions of the test. "It's not supposed to predict business skills," he said. "It's a really great tool when you use it to assess the rest of the academic record." However, John Katzman, founder of The Princeton Review, feels the test has run its course. "Five years from now, the SAT will be gone, and few will mourn its passing," he said in a statement. "Its epitaph will be: 'As a test, it was none of the above."' The test has also been under attack for being a barrier to African-American and Hispanic students, as many critics say the test has cultural biases. Olivia Wallace, vice president of Penn's Black Student League, agrees that the test is not the fairest means of assessment. "It definitely has its certain biases, depending on where you go to school and how affluent it is," the College senior said. Katzman said he feels the best path for colleges to take is toward creating a better testing tool. "We should be asking colleges to find a more predictive, more educational, less biased exam," he said in his statement. Basili said the solution lies in getting resources to low income students. "It's an expensive and difficult problem to solve, but it's the real reason," he said. "The thing to remember is that the SAT is one piece of evidence in a big pile. It's not the barrier to admission for most students." Most academics agree that the biggest problem with the test arises when it is given too much weight in the admissions process. "We are concerned that these tests are being asked to do far more than they should and that the young people are paying the consequences," the letter reads.