The Effects of Practice on the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test (SweSAT)

The Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test (SweSAT) is used for selection among applicants to higher education in Sweden. A test taker can, according to the rules for the SweSA T, repeat the test as many times as he/she wants, and the best obtained score is used in the selection procedure if a test taker has more than one valid test score. The effects of repeated test taking is a matter of concern, and earlier studies on the SweSAT indicate that there is a gain in score between the first and the second test taking. With these results as a basis the actual study describes differences in obtained score for all repeaters who have taken the SweSA T exactly twice, and their score at the first test taking are compared with their score at the second test taking. All repeaters at five regular testings are included in this study, and score changes totally as well as on the level of subtests and groups are studied. Difference scores are transformed to standardized mean difference scores in order to compare differences between subtests, with different number of items, and in order to compare results from each of the five regular testings. The obtained results indicate that repeaters obtain a higher score in the second testing than in the first, that the gains are relatively big on the DS, DTM and STECH subtests, and that test takers with a non‐Swedish educational background obtain the biggest gain between the first and the second test taking. If gain scores are related to sex, there is a tendency for men to gain more on DS and DTM, and for women to gain more on STECH.