The Relationship between Scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test and College Marks in Chemistry

In 1926 the College Entrance Examination Board devised an aptitude test, known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test. It is a test offered to colleges and universities for the purpose of testing all candidates for admission to these institutions. No institution, however, is obli gated to give the test; acceptance is entirely on a voluntary basis. The test, from 1930 until 1936, the period covered by this investigation, consisted of two sections: one of which is material essentially linguistic or verbal in nature and another of which is material essentially mathematical in nature. The test aims to measure potential ability to do wrork on the college level along specific lines, rather than to measure ability in general. A primary purpose of the Scho lastic Aptitude Test is its use as an aid in guidance and teaching in college; for ex ample, selecting students for admission to the Various 'fields of study, guiding them in their choice of majors, forestalling through super vision the possible failures of doubtful stu dents, diagnosing the mediocre performance or failures of promising students, and section ing groups for instructional purposes.1