To What Extent Are Students Born Into Their SAT Score? A Study Of The Factors Which Determine SAT Achievement

Abstract

This study examines 759 California public high school’s SAT and ACT data in 2000 and 2015, examining school’s consistency in SAT achievement between years and looking at the school-level determinants of SAT achievement and the school-level determinants of the percentage of students at each school taking the SAT or ACT. In terms of consistency in SAT achievement, I find strong consistency within schools between years, suggesting that SAT achievement at the school level largely stems from the quality of the school rather than the unique cohort of students enrolled at a specific time. This, in turn, suggests the school a student is zoned to plays an important role in determining SAT scores. Looking at the determinants of SAT achievement and the percentage of students who take the SAT or ACT, I find that the educational attainment levels of a school’s zip code plays a large role in determining both SAT achievement and the percentage of students at a school taking the SAT or ACT; however, I find the median household income of a school’s zip code plays little role in determining either SAT achievement or the percentage of a school’s students taking the SAT or ACT. In regards to the racial composition of schools, I find a negative relationship between the percentage of Hispanic and black students at a school and school-level SAT achievement, as well as a positive relationship between the number of Asian students at a school and SAT achievement.