The Large Racial Gap in Academic Qualifications of SAT Test Takers

The large racial scoring gap on the SAT and ACT college admission tests is due in part to a wide racial gap in the academic qualifications of the test takers. Data from The College Board shows that 60 percent of white students who took the SAT were ranked in the top 20 percent of their high school classes. This compares to 41 percent of black test takers. Some 48 percent of white students who took the SAT report that their high school grade point average was in the A range. This compares to only 23 percent of black test takers. The mean high school grade point average for all white students who took the SAT was 3.40. For blacks, the figure was 3.00. These figures alone explain a large portion of the racial scoring gap on the SAT.

Copyright © 2007. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.