Nearly 8 out of 10 colleges require either the ACT or SAT.

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If GPA is the best predictor of college success, why do colleges cling to ACT and SAT?

In preparation for applying to colleges this fall, my 17-year-old twins just took the June SAT and ACT. So, I was interested in today’s release of a National Association for College Admissions Counseling survey of 400 member campuses. The survey asked how often colleges validate the usefulness of these standardized entrance exams.

The survey found only 51 percent of the colleges conduct predictive validity studies to discover whether the tests tell them anything helpful. Yet, nearly 8 out of 10 colleges require either the ACT or SAT.

Among that 51 percent, 59 percent conduct validity studies annually; 24 percent every other year. Colleges have their own study protocols for gauging whether SAT or ACT scores mean anything.