Grades vs. SAT scores: Which is a better predictor of college success?

[roethlisburger]

@ucbalumnus
As far as the predictive power of HS GPA and SAT scores, both UC and Harvard have noted that HS GPA is more predictive of college performance than SAT scores. Both also found that achievement tests (SAT subject and (for Harvard) AP) were more predictive than SAT scores. But the achievement tests are the non-default tests that many students do not hear about until too late, so colleges may be reluctant to require them for that reason.

The 2019 SAT validation study found FYGPA and HSGPA to have correlations of .53 (.33) and between FYGPA and SAT to have correlations of .51 (.32). The correlations in parentheses are raw correlations, while 0.51 and 0.53 are adjusted to account for the selectivity of the student sample. HSGPA and SAT, when used alone, had nearly identical power for predicting FYGPA. Using both together, had a correlation of .61 (.42), indicating more predictive power than using either one alone.

https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/pdf/national-sat-validity-study.pdf