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Job application asked for my SAT scores

mrmarket.lol

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Re: Job application asked for my SAT scores

#141

Post by cute_boi »

consensus1 wrote: post #90
lern_too_spel wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

SAT score is known to be predictive of college grades. Is it also predictive for whether a mid-to-late career candidate will pass a phone screen? It is used for early career candidate filtering in finance, but I have not heard of anybody caring beyond that because of the availability of signal on the actual tasks they will be performing.

It is correlated tightly with IQ, so yes it will likely be a strong predictive signal for passing a phone screen.

Maybe Maths, but english is probably not correlated tightly with IQ as it is more affected by language background and education.

Re: Job application asked for my SAT scores

#142

Post by apparent »

giantrobot wrote: post #122
DenverR wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can look at historical percentile by year and score though.

Which requires them to explicitly ask your age outside the bounds of qualification for a job (over 18 etc). Which ends up opening them to age discrimination lawsuits.

It does not require them to ask about your age, just the year in which you took the SAT. As other commenters have pointed out, this can range from 12 to 17.

Also, they could just ask for your SAT score and any relevant info (if you took it during COVID from your car, etc.) and then you could disclose whatever context you wanted.

Re: Job application asked for my SAT scores

#143

Post by gruez »

cute_boi wrote: post #141
consensus1 wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is correlated tightly with IQ, so yes it will likely be a strong predictive signal for passing a phone screen.

Maybe Maths, but english is probably not correlated tightly with IQ as it is more affected by language background and education.

>english is probably not correlated tightly with IQ as it is more affected by language background and education.

No, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G_factor_(psychometrics) English and math has a 0.64 correlation.

Re: Job application asked for my SAT scores

#145

Post by cute_boi »

alephnerd wrote: post #10

As I mentioned elsewhere on HN [0], younger generations are much more competitive now. Visit and talk with undergrads at a top CS program like Stanford, Cal, UIUC, MIT, etc. The culture is different because this is a much more competitive generation. When the acceptance rate into a top CS program is in the 1-5% range and laurels like being a Valedictorian, NHS member, JV or Varsity sports team member in HS, getting a…

Extreme competition isn't good. It will just lead to race to bottom.

Re: Job application asked for my SAT scores

#146

Post by WalterBright »

delichon wrote: post #28

Last month 2,400 University of California faculty asked for admissions to resume using the SAT "to ensure foundational fluency." Of course many employers want to ensure that too, especially when college degrees don't anymore. The widening abilities gap followed the 2020 elimination of the SAT/ACT, a temporary measure that has now become a permanent vulnerability. This outcome was explicitly predicted by the Academic…

I always enjoy the advocates who claim that students have mastered their subjects, but "don't test well".

Would you want a pilot on your flight who flunked flying school exams, but somehow "really knew how to fly!"?

Re: Job application asked for my SAT scores

#147

Post by cyberax »

annzabelle wrote: post #108
cyberax wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the whole package of grades+activities+honors societies+test scores This is _also_ a very US thing. Without true competition, students have to fluff their "resumes" with nonsense to get admitted into good colleges. Other countries have tougher tests that can provide a better signal. > We're selecting for robots. I disagree. We're selecting for people who can set a goal and follow it. Apply the same arguments to spo…

I didn't really state my whole view, but hard exams like Oxford and Cambridge use make sense for elite colleges to use (rather than unrelated extracurriculars), but reforming the whole education system to be oriented around a single high stakes test like in China or Korea has its own severe costs. I do not want high schoolers to spend 20 hours a week at hagwons, and the current resume filler system is also terrible.…

Yeah, Chinese-style gaokao would be impossible in the US. And I think it goes _too_ far into the "competitive high pressure" direction.

There are many ways to make a more competitive and objective system. I honestly don't have a lot of professional experience with any particular one, so I don't have strong opinions on a particular form it should take. A European model is good, some kind of mix of Chinese+European would also be great. And ultimately, these systems would be more fair for applicants.

And the current topic just highlights the ridiculousness of the status quo. For most people in the US, SAT is the _only_ objective test score that they have.

Re: Job application asked for my SAT scores

#148

Post by WalterBright »

apparent wrote: post #98
delichon wrote: post #28

Last month 2,400 University of California faculty asked for admissions to resume using the SAT "to ensure foundational fluency." Of course many employers want to ensure that too, especially when college degrees don't anymore. The widening abilities gap followed the 2020 elimination of the SAT/ACT, a temporary measure that has now become a permanent vulnerability. This outcome was explicitly predicted by the Academic…

The UC faculty opposed the SAT requirement being discarded in the first place. They were overruled by the UC Regents, and that may happen again. And even if the SAT is brought back, I'm sure it will be given much less weight and subjected to the "in a local context" process in the name of equity.

I took the SAT 50 some years ago. I kinda doubt I would do so well on it today without doing remedial prep work on the math.

Re: Job application asked for my SAT scores

#149

Post by WalterBright »

doctorpangloss wrote: post #39
delichon wrote: post #28

Last month 2,400 University of California faculty asked for admissions to resume using the SAT "to ensure foundational fluency." Of course many employers want to ensure that too, especially when college degrees don't anymore. The widening abilities gap followed the 2020 elimination of the SAT/ACT, a temporary measure that has now become a permanent vulnerability. This outcome was explicitly predicted by the Academic…

how many elected leaders are in STEM? would high SAT scores and grades exclude many US presidents and congressmen? (yes) winning elections seems kind of important to me. so if you were just like, selecting for leadership - and many of our leaders are brilliant people, just not in the sense of being good at taking tests - would that be good or bad? or... what is your real opinion? what are you actually mad about? obvi…

> not in the sense of being good at taking tests

The trick to doing well on the SATs is to pay attention in class.

Re: Job application asked for my SAT scores

#150

Post by eikenberry »

delichon wrote: post #28

Last month 2,400 University of California faculty asked for admissions to resume using the SAT "to ensure foundational fluency." Of course many employers want to ensure that too, especially when college degrees don't anymore. The widening abilities gap followed the 2020 elimination of the SAT/ACT, a temporary measure that has now become a permanent vulnerability. This outcome was explicitly predicted by the Academic…

Why is a lossy testing filter better than just failing out those who can't make it? Maybe allow for larger freshmen classes and smaller latter classes or adopt community colleges and have all students start there and advance into the UC system sophomore year on. Instead they bring back what is basically an IQ test for admission.
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