Average SAT scores for students entering state universities are rising, and nowhere as much as at the University of South Florida. In 10 years, USF scores have soared by 84 points, from 1067 to 1151.
Other state universities have seen similar gains. University of Central Florida's average score rose by 81 points, to 1225. At the University of North Florida, in Jacksonville, the average went up by 74 points, to 1199.
But for anxious students and their parents, rushing to retake the test or get into a test-preparation course isn't the answer. State university admission directors say that getting into the school you want requires one thing above all: making the grade in tough high school courses.
SAT and ACT scores matter, but not as much as they once did.
SAT scores and grades for new students are rising at state universities for one reason, said USF admissions director Bob Spatig: competition.
The universities have had more applicants every year, but not more openings.
"It's raised the selectivity of every institution," said UNF's admissions director, John Yancey.
Admissions directors are thrilled to have more accomplished freshmen on their campuses, but they also worry about students obsessing about the SAT. Yancey said he knows a student who took the test 12 times.
"I wouldn't recommend that," he said, though he's not against students taking it more than once. "It's the one yardstick that we can use to measure everyone equally. Until we have a better device, we'll keep using it."
Across the country, however, more colleges and universities are taking placement test scores out of the admissions equation for many students.
The nonprofit National Center for Fair and Open Testing, based in Boston, is compiling a list, which is now up to 850.
Argument against SAT
Some of the schools use the scores only to determine what classes new students should take. Others use them for students who fail to meet grade or class rank criteria, said Robert Schaeffer, spokesman for the group, known as Fair Test.
The list includes many state universities, such as Alabama State, Arizona State and the University of Texas. Florida schools on the list include Rollins College in Winter Garden, ITT Technical Institute and several other private and proprietary schools, but none of the state's public universities or colleges.
One argument against the SAT, Schaeffer said, would be the student who took the test 12 times. That's a lot of time, money and stress - for minimal gain. Taking the basic SAT costs $45. Scores rarely go up after the second or third try.
Using the SAT for college admissions also encourages parents to spend thousands of dollars on test preparation, Schaeffer said. And what about students who can't afford to hire testing coaches and take the test again and again?
But the best argument against standardized admissions tests, he said, is that they don't predict college success.
The SAT shows how well students analyze and solve problems. The ACT tends to measure accumulated knowledge. But Schaeffer said the best way to know whether a student will succeed in college is to look at the next best thing - performance in high school, particularly in rigorous, college-type courses.
Taking admission tests out of the mix "puts emphasis on real classroom performance," he said. "It encourages kids to take those rigorous courses and do well, rather than spending time honing skills for a one-shot test."
But he understands why colleges and universities continue to use the tests. They don't have the time to study the class records of every applicant.
"It's a convenient way to sort groups of students into piles," he said.
To Joe Glover, provost of the University of Florida, the test is one of several tools. It's not the most important, he said, but it does provide a glimpse of a student's potential.
He pointed out that the average score for a freshman class is just that, an average, which means that roughly half of the students admitted scored below the average.
Not the sole criterion
Most of UF's applicants take the SAT, and the average score has risen slowly in the past decade, to 1279. That's a combination of the math and critical reading sections of the test.
On one hand, it reflects increasing competition for limited spaces, he said. But it also shows a higher level of achievement.
"These students work very hard," he said.
Still, the test score is the third or fourth thing the admissions department takes into account.
"The SAT is not the end all and be all," Glover said. "We look at an essay, extracurricular activities, letters of recommendation." But at the top of the list is the high school course work, particularly grades in difficult courses.
It's the same at USF, said admissions director Spatig.
"Over the last two years, we have relied less on the SAT for a significant number of our decisions because we know that a student with a high GPA in a rigorous curriculum has the best chance of succeeding," he said.
USF accepted about 12,000 of 28,000 applicants last summer and fall; about 60 percent had A-minus grade averages.
The SAT scores of the new students were high mainly because the good scores tend to follow good grades, Spatig said.
He has some advice to high school students preparing for college: If you're trying to decide between SAT test preparation and making the grade in a difficult class, focus on the class.
"Spending too much time focusing on a single test score is probably going to be more a detriment than a benefit," he said.
Reporter Lindsay Peterson can be reached at (813) 259-7834.
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