SAT Scores Used in Hiring

(via Joanne Jacobs) Attention! High schoolers listen up. Those Scholastic Aptitude Test scores you're submitting as a prerequisite for college are now being used by some firms as a basis for hiring college graduates. So, the same SAT scores that get you into a college will also possibly count toward being hired after college.

In a tough job market, businesses have the luxury of being more choosy about whom they hire. Firms have always had the ability to request SAT scores, but some may be likelier actually to do so as a way to sift quickly through an ever-growing number of applicants.

The practice is not necessarily new. When asked how long Goldman Sachs has requested high school test scores, Aaron Marcus, head of campus recruiting, quips, "How long have they been around?" Mr. Marcus says they interview about 4,000 to 5,000 undergrads per semester, which doesn't leave a lot of time to ask detailed questions about how many calculus courses each one took.

Since Goldman Sachs takes students from any academic background, Marcus says math scores of 700 (out of 800) or higher indicate "whether they're comfortable with numbers." Applicants initially self-report test scores and submit a r�sum� that highlights leadership and work experience. An official college transcript is not reviewed until the company decides to make an offer.

I anticipate that some liberal group will protest the practice, stating that it puts too much pressure on the students. Personally, having been in the position of reviewing stacks of resumes, I would liked to have known the SAT scores of prospective employees. In that capacity, a person wants to know as much as possible about job seekers. However, under no circumstances could I see the SAT scores being used as any more than an additional data point, among many, about an individual when assessing his/her capability to do a job.