Mathematical SAT Test Scores and College Chemistry Grades

The relationships between mathematical SAT scores (SAT-M) and grades earned by students in eight consecutive years of first- and second-semester general chemistry courses at Oberlin College are reported. The academic years surveyed are 1987-1988 through 1994-1995. SAT-M scores are grouped within seven ranges from 450 and less to 710-800. Within any range of scores, students in both courses earned a wide variety of grades, but those within the higher ranges tended to earn higher grades and fewer failures relative to students in the lower ranges. For all students within each range of SAT-M scores, the fraction earning each grade are calculated. These fractions along with the numbers of students and their SAT-M scores in a subset are used to calculate grades expected for that subset. In the first-semester course, the expected and actual grades for subsets of males, females, first-year students, non-first-year students, Asians, Blacks, and Latinos are not significantly different. Those who eventually majored in chemistry or biochemistry attained grades very significantly higher than expected. Most students tended to achieve grades in the second-semester course that were similar to those earned in the first-semester course.