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Research and Test Development
The SAT Suite is grounded in extensive collaboration with a range of stakeholders, including K–12 educators, curriculum experts, higher education faculty, psychometricians, and assessment developers.
A multistage approach to assessment design supports the appropriate use of test scores across the education continuum. When used thoughtfully, scores from the SAT Suite of Assessments (including the PSAT 8/9, PSAT 10, PSAT/NMSQT, and SAT) can inform the processes of:
- evaluating and monitoring students' college and career readiness.
- monitoring student progress through a vertically scaled suite of assessments.
- connecting students to postsecondary educational opportunities and career possibilities.
- helping underrepresented students be seen by colleges.
- making college admission, advising, and college course placement decisions.
- contributing to scholarship selection and other awards.
Test Content Development
The SAT Suite test content development is based on a robust body of research, including the following:
- Curriculum Survey
A national survey of faculty identifying the academic skills and knowledge essential for success in first-year college courses and those emphasized by secondary educators - Alignment Studies
Internal as well as independent, third-party studies confirming that the SAT Suite aligns with college and career readiness expectations in reading, writing, and math - Cognitive Labs
A series of small-scale studies, including studies with students with dyslexia, students with ADHD, and English learners, confirming that test questions on the SAT Suite elicit the higher-order, cognitively complex thinking skills needed for college and career readiness - Robust, Multistage Validation
An intensive and extensive validation process, including internal and external review at multiple stages, that ensures that SAT Suite test questions measure what they are intended to measure, are content sound and fair to all students, and elicit the types of cognitively complex thinking necessary for introductory college-level courses
This research is supported by:
- Content and Fairness Reviews
Conducting reviews by internal and external subject matter experts to ensure that test questions are content sound, fair, and reflective of the types of skills and knowledge needed for college readiness - Statistical Analysis
Undertaking large-scale pretesting with representative samples of SAT Suite test takers to ensure that test questions measure students' skills and knowledge accurately, fairly, and meaningfully - External Validation
Analyzing relationships of SAT Suite scores with other measures of the outcomes the tests are intended to predict to ensure that these various measures converge, yielding complementary results