Analysis of Inequities in the Requirements for Admission to the University System of Georgia Analysis of Inequities in the Requirements for Admission to the University System of GeorgiaIn contrast, the achievement requirements for non-accredited applicants, as measured by the SAT II tests, are the same for all college sectors and, thus, violate the BoR’s policy direction. The requirements greatly exceed the capabilities of minimally knowledgeable, accredited applicants who would be acceptable only at associate-level colleges, and probably could be fully satisfied by not more than 38% of the students currently being admitted to the research universities.
Please refer to Appendix A for statistical analyses of the fairness of the SAT II achievement test requirements.
Non-accredited students do not have an FI requirement; but, instead, must meet a USG specified achievement level in each subject area before CPC compliance is recognized for that subject area. The achievement level is determined by performance on the corresponding SAT II subject area test. The USG has added a criterion-reference to each SAT II test, which means that they have chosen a cut score that must be achieved or surpassed by non-accredited applicants. As a result, the USG will wield stricter control over the curriculum content of non-accredited programs than it has over accredited programs, since non-accredited programs will need to "teach to the tests."
The SAT II tests are norm-referenced. That means that they are used to assess a relative level of achievement in each subject area tested. High school course grades are not norm-referenced. Non-accredited applicants would not benefit from the grade inflation favoring accredited students.
Requirements for non-accredited applicants do not allow strength in one subject area to compensate for weakness in another. However, the FI for accredited applicants allows a high course grade to compensate for a low course grade. In other words, only the average of the grades awarded to an accredited applicant needs to meet or surpass a standard, while each grade achieved by a non-accredited applicant would.
The FI for accredited applicants allows a higher SAT I composite score to compensate for a lower HSGPA or vise-versa. The SAT I score is weighted almost equally with HSGPA. This standard satisfies the BoR’s Policy Directive on Admissions by involving multiple measures. For non-accredited applicants, a higher SAT I composite score is not permitted to compensate for overall weakness in the SAT II scores or vise-versa. A non-accredited applicant’s aptitude test score is checked only to see that it meets the minimum requirement for all students. Any SAT I score in excess of the minimum 830 is not considered in the admission decision for a non-accredited applicant. Except for those seeking the "Outstanding scores" exception (95th percentile), non-accredited applicants will find little value in taking the SAT I test. Effectively, the SAT II requirement is the only type of measure of the preparedness of non-accredited applicants, and, therefore, is a violation of the BoR’s Policy Direction requiring multiple measures.
Applicants who have not graduated from an accredited or regulated high school, but have CPC credits on a transcript from such a high school, may not use their credits toward CPC compliance.
The USG has does not recognize that course completion in an accredited or regulated high school is of value to any other than graduates of such a school. By doing so, the USG greatly discourages college-bound students in home study programs from voluntarily and selectively participating in courses offered by willing accredited or regulated high schools.
The USG will credit an accredited applicant with four CPC units if he/she has taken four years of math terminating with algebra II and geometry. The USG will credit a non-accredited applicant with only three CPC units even if he/she passes the harder Math IIC test and thereby demonstrates an understanding of the topics commonly taught in math courses terminating with pre-calculus and/or trigonometry.
The USG states, "A fourth CPC mathematics unit will be required in 2001" for non-accredited applicants. It is not at all clear what math requirement the USG intends to add. The USG will award credit of only three CPC units to non-accredited applicants who pass even the higher-level SAT II Math IIC test. Apparently, the fourth unit will be awarded based on a requirement beyond that only expected, but not required, of accredited applicants (that is, beyond advanced algebra or Trigonometry).
Accredited applicants may choose from Physical Science (a lower level course than Chemistry or Physics), Physics, Chemistry, or a lab-version of Astronomy, Meteorology, Earth Science, Geology, or Oceanography to fulfill the requirement for at least one laboratory course from the physical sciences. Non-accredited applicants must choose from either Chemistry or Physics.
The USG requires non-accredited applicants to demonstrate the same proficiency in a foreign language that would be achieved by accredited students after two years of foreign language study. However, there is no clear standard or measure for the foreign language proficiency of graduates from an accredited program. Non-accredited applicants are being asked to meet an undefined standard. So far, the USG has not mandated which foreign language tests shall be taken by non-accredited applicants, nor have they established cut scores. Presently, each separate institution is choosing its own standard.
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