The ACT has come out against the SAT’s adversity score. In a recent blog post, ACT CEO Marten Roorda confirmed the ACT will not be following this route. Let’s be clear. This is great news!
The SAT has taken significant heat from its announcement from multiple major mainstream media sources. Furthermore, we believe much of that criticism has been spot on.
In the blog linked above, Roorda acknowledges he appreciates the College Board’s sincere intent. However, he also comments, “The algorithm and research behind this adversity score have not been published. It is basically a black box. Any composite score and any measurement in general requires transparency; students, teachers and admissions officers have the right to know. Now we can’t review the validity and the fairness of the score. And even if that changes, there is also an issue with the reliability of the measure, since many of the 15 variables come from an unchecked source—for example, when they are self-reported by the student.”
