Notes: The Validity of the SAT at the University of Hawaii: A Riddle Wrapped in an Enigma

Hawaii is unique in a variety of ways. One of these is the unusual ethnic mixture that makes up its population; under traditional definitions 76% of its population is “minority” and 24% is “White.” The performance of those of its high school students who go on to the University of Hawaii-Manoa on the SAT-Verbal is higher than the national mean, and on the SAT-Mathematical it is much higher. However, the correlation of SAT scores with first year grades has decreased to almost zero since 1982 among Hawaiian students (although among mainland students at UH it is the same as the national average).

In this article we provide the facts for a mystery regarding the low and decreasing validity of the SAT at the University of Hawaii among students from Hawaiian secondary schools. Moreover, while we are unable to provide a complete solution, we do eliminate one onerous suspect and provide an evocative hint.