How much do SAT II scores matter?

[bclintonk]

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@countingdown

A poster asked on p.1 about the percentile for a 770 on USH – it’s 95th. In contrast, a 770 Math Level II is 84%tile, and a 730 Lit is 90%tile. Those %tiles are among the kids who take the test – who are generally better prepared in the subject than students who have chosen not to take it in the first place.

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<p>Just to clarify by comparing apples to apples: according to the College Board, among 2008 college-bound seniors who had taken any SAT II tests, a score of 750 in Lit would put you at the 94th percentile of those taking the test, while a score of 750 in US History would put you at the 91st percentile, and a score of 750 in Math Level 2 would put you at the 77th percentile.</p>

<p><a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/Total_Group_Report.pdf[/url]”>Higher Education Professionals | College Board;

<p>But these percentile figures are somewhat misleading. It’s a highly self-selecting group that takes any SAT IIs at all since they’re required at only a handful of elite colleges, and the group who take any particular SAT II subject test tends to be an even more highly self-selecting group of students who are strong in that area. A lot more kids are strong in math than in literature; consequently, more take and more do well in the most challenging math test. That doesn’t mean the math test is “easier” in any absolute sense, only that our gene pool, culture, and schools produce more kids who are really strong on math than on literature.</p>