College Admissions and the SAT

Selected papers on standardized testing and access to American universities.

Opinion piece published in the New York Times (05/05/15). The new version of the SAT is to debut in the spring of 2016.

Reflections on a Century of College Admissions Tests (PDF)

Paper published with Saul Geiser in Educational Researcher, Vol. 38, No. 9 (December 2009).

Book review of Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at America’s Public Universities, with Saul Geiser. Published in Science, Vol. 325, 1343-1344 (09/11/09).

The New SAT: A Test at War with Itself (PDF)

An invited presidential address at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association held in San Diego, California (04/15/09).

The New SAT: A Work in Progress

Opinion piece about the new SAT published in: A Journal of the Association for Psychological Science, Observer, Vol. 21, No. 10 (11/08).

Rethinking Admissions: US Public Universities in the Post-Affirmative Action Age (PDF)

Invited paper at the UK and US Higher Education Finance and Access Symposium, Oxford University (09/29/04).

College Admissions and the SAT: A Personal Perspective (PDF)

Invited address at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego (4/14/04). Subsequently published in: A Journal of the Association for Psychological Science, Observer, Vol. 18, 15-22, 2005.

A Brief History of the Atkinson Presidency (PDF)

by Patricia A. Pelfrey (9/03).

College Board's decision to alter the SAT I

Statement on the College Board's new test, which will be in accord with specifications developed by UC's Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools (6/27/02).

The Changing World of College Admissions Tests (PDF)

Speech delivered to the Western Association of College and University Business Officers, San Diego (5/7/02).

Achievement Versus Aptitude in College Admissions (PDF)

Paper based on keynote address delivered at a conference on Rethinking the SAT: The Future of Standardized Testing in University Admissions, in Santa Barbara, 11/16/01. Published in Issues in Science and Technology, Winter 2001-02 (12/01).

UC looks beyond test scores for students (PDF)

Opinion piece about initiatives to expand opportunities for students to achieve admission to UC, published in the Sacramento Bee (6/15/01).

Let's step back from the SAT I (PDF)

Opinion piece about elimination of the SAT I examination as a requirement for application to the University of California, published in the San Jose Mercury News (2/23/01).

UC takes a look at SAT I's worth (PDF)

Opinion piece about the role of standardized testing and the SAT I in admissions decisions at the University of California, published in the Sacramento Bee (2/21/01).

Standardized Tests and Access to American Universities (PDF)

The 2001 Robert H. Atwell Distinguished Lecture, delivered at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the American Council on Education, Washington, D.C. (2/18/01).

Admission to the University of California (PDF)

Opinion piece about the challenges of expanding opportunities for all promising students without regard to race and ethnicity, published in the San Francisco Chronicle (4/1/98). Reprinted in the Los Angeles Daily News, the Santa Barbara News-Press, and the Oakland Tribune.