Take two! SAT retaking and college enrollment gaps
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Published version
Date
2020
Authors
Goodman, Joshua
Gurantz, Oded
Smith, Jonathan
Version
Published version
OA Version
Citation
J. Goodman, O. Gurantz, J. Smith. 2020. "Take Two! SAT Retaking and College Enrollment Gaps" American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Volume 12, Issue 2, pp.115-58. https://doi.org/10.1257/pol.20170503
Abstract
Only half of SAT-takers retake the exam, with even lower retake rates among low-income students and underrepresented minority (URM) students. We exploit discontinuous jumps in retake probabilities at multiples of 100, driven by left-digit bias, to estimate retaking’s causal effects. Retaking substantially improves SAT scores and increases four-year college enrollment rates, particularly for low-income and URM students. Eliminating disparities in retake rates could close up to 10 percent of the income-based gap and up to 7 percent of the race-based gap in four-year college enrollment rates of high school graduates. (JEL I21, I23, I24, J15)
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