The College Board high command is defensive about the value and predictive power of the SAT and AP exams (Letters, Dec. 9). But on the whole the company is right: The tests are better predictors of college performance than anything anyone else is using, especially in California, where diplomas seem to be handed out by the bushel with little or no attention to student learning.
External measures akin to audits, like the SAT and APs, tend to be more reliable and accurate than grades and statewide tests, for which the standards and cut scores keep fluctuating. The College Board’s products aren’t getting “easier” as such. But the company keeps introducing more variants, including subjects widely thought to be easier. It’s removed some elements—such as SAT essays—that many find more revealing than multiple-choice questions. And it does occasionally recalibrate its scoring in various ways. It isn’t pure. It’s simply the best available, and in my view pretty darn good.