Standardized Test Scores as an Indicator of Success for Problem-Based Learning

Since the 1920s, standardized testing scores such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), followed by the American College Testing (ACT) Program in the 1950s, have been used in the college admissions process as an indicator of potential academic success. While only one of the factors considered in the admissions process, the scores are believed to be a way to compare applicants from different high schools and backgrounds. Standardized testing scores are typically used to indicate potential academic success in traditional lecture-based courses based on evidence of a direct correlation between high standardized test scores and future academic success. The construction management curriculum at Mississippi State University follows a problem-based pedagogy, which is a more active form of learning that engages a different thought process than the more passive lecture-based learning. Using ten years of admissions and academic data collected from 144 students who have completed the core studio sequence, this paper seeks to determine whether there is a correlation between standardized testing scores and academic success in problem-based learning. Preliminary results indicate there is a weak direct correlation between standardized testing scores and academic success and only to a certain point. The results of this study can be useful in recruiting and identifying at-risk students.