THE RELATIONSHIP OF ESSAY AND MULTIPLE-CHOICE SCORES WITH GRADES IN COLLEGE COURSES

Essay and multiple-choice scores from Advanced Placement (AP) examinations in American History, European History, English Language and Composition, and Biology were matched with freshman grades in a sample of 32 colleges. Multiple-choice scores from the American History and Biology examinations were more highly correlated with freshman grade point averages than were essay scores from the same examinations, but essay scores were essentially equivalent to multiple-choice scores in correlations with course grades in history, English, and biology. In history courses, men and women received comparable grades and had nearly equal scores on the AP essays, but the multiple-choice scores of men were nearly one half of a standard deviation higher than the scores of women.