Contextualized High School Performance: Evidence to Inform Equitable Holistic, Test-Optional, and Test-Free Admissions Policies
Contextualized High School Performance: Evidence to Inform Equitable Holistic, Test-Optional, and Test-Free Admissions Policies
 
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Published Online in:
AERA Open
September 18, 2023

Michael Bastedo, University of Michigan
Mark Umbricht, University of North Carolina
Emma Bausch, University of Michigan
Bo-Kyung Byun, University of Michigan
Yiping Bai, University of Michigan

Holistic admissions practices require evaluating an applicant’s credentials in light of the opportunities available in their high school context. High school grades, test scores, and course taking are clearly related to college grades, retention, and graduation. But does performance in high school context also relate to college success? Building a unique dataset of 2.3 million students in a Midwestern state, we find that contextualized indicators of high school grades and standardized tests are strongly associated with student success in college, validating their use in holistic admissions. Contextualized grades have a stronger and more consistent association with college success than contextualized test scores, and may be most helpful at test-optional, test-free, and broader-access colleges that have yet to adopt holistic admissions practices.

Read the full open-access article

Read the press release: "Study: Admissions Policies that Consider Grades and Test Scores in Context of Available Opportunities Are Linked to College Success"

Video: Study co-author Michael Bastedo discusses major findings and implications

Study citation: Bastedo, M. N., Umbricht, M., Bausch, E., Byun, B., & Bai, Y. (2023). Contextualized high school performance: Evidence to inform equitable holistic, test-optional, and test-free admissions policies. AERA Open, 9(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584231197413
 
 
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