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dilksy, perhaps then you can suggest a different available proxy that may be more indicative , in your opinion, of math facility of the student body, for this purpose.
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<p>The AMC test seems to way better differentiate between people good in math, but on the flip side that particular test wouldn't be able to "see" a difference between someone with a 300 math SAT and a 600 probably. SAT math does fine for pretty average to above average people but it doesn't accurately (in my opinion) discriminate between people who are good and great at math. I scored 730-750 on the math SAT despite having won state trophies in mu alpha theta and qualified for AIME.</p>
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What information does this tell us? Why is this important?
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<p>I don't know if this information is useful for me or anyone in particular. Yet I found that Collegehelp has done an excellent job with his information.</p>
<p>In fact, when we will looking for CS schools, I used his average SAT numbers and CS graduates posts extensive to identify some LACs that my son was going to apply too. I probable memorized that top ten PhD CS program by heart. However we believe that my son would benefit more from a small school. Those huge schools might be great CS schools but might not be where my son wants to spend the next 4 years. I used his posts to limit his search to some small and midsize schools. From there, I searched their programs comprehensively to come up with a list. If I see this list 5 months earlier, I might add more schools to my list for researching.</p>
<p>t1388-thanks so much for your kind remark. I am glad you found the information helpful. Best of luck to your son.</p>
<p>Phead128-the SATs predict graduation rates, not just first year performance. The correlation between SATs and graduation rates is about +.8 to +.9. You can take the US News data for the top 100 universities and do the calculation yourself. Be sure to use a wide range of schools so you don't run into the truncated range statistical problem. This myth about SATs only predicting first year is a result of trying to predict the outcomes for individual students rather than groups of students.</p>
<p>I just calculated the correlation between SAT math 25th percentile and graduation rate for the 250 universities in the US that graduated 50 or more engineering students last year. It was +.83. With ACT math 25th percentile, the correlation was +.86. These are very strong relationships for social "science" type stuff. Do you still believe SATs only predict first year performance?</p>
<p>I think the key is to use lots of tools when evaluating schools. Math SATs are a good 'first cut', but don't tell you everything. I find the list of at least some use and will add it to my toolbox. Right now I'm making several lists from several perspectives - schools that kids from my child's school matriculate/attend, US News rankings, comments from various folks, schools I like from both the 366 book and the "Colleges That Change Lives" book. Then, I'll get a list from my son's school as well, and I'll see what schools keep popping up.</p>