Caution in Use of College-Entry Tests Urged

Study sees exams as imperfect gauges of high school standards.

In an effort to raise high school graduation standards, some states are incorporating college-admissions or -placement tests into their testing programs. But a new analysis urges the states to proceed with caution.

The analysis by the Washington-based Achieve of more than 2,000 questions from admissions and placement exams found that the tests vary considerably from one another and may not fully measure the knowledge and skills necessary for college.

“What we found is that the tests that are out there, developed for very specific purposes, don’t fully or completely reflect the kinds of knowledge and skills that are being incorporated into state high school standards in math and English,” said Michael Cohen, the president of Achieve, a nonprofit group created by governors and business leaders to help states increase the rigor of their...