Balancing excellence and equity in predictive college admissions: insights from the University of the Philippines

2024/11/04 by Jan Carlo B. Punongbayan · 1 voice
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Medicine · Social Sciences · #Higher Education Research Studies #Labor market dynamics and wage inequality #Medical Education and Admissions

paper · doi:10.1080/09645292.2024.2421165

openalex publication_date 2024/11/04 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/15

Abstract

The University of the Philippines (UP) uses high school grades and standardized test scores for predictive admissions, balancing academic performance with affirmative action for underprivileged applicants. Using a novel UP panel dataset, I find that high school grades better predict academic performance, while entrance exam scores reflect background characteristics. Simulations suggest that reducing the weight of standardized exams boosts the qualification rates for public and private school students, but lowers it for science high schools and Metro Manila students. The findings indicate that relying more on grades could enhance both excellence and equity in college admissions.

Citations

• The Concept of Validity.

Discussions

• 📘 Balancing excellence and equity in predictive college admissions: Insights from the University of the Philippines 👨🏼‍🏫 JC Punongbayan, UP School of Economics 📍 Education Economics 📅 Published: [bsky, 0 points, 1 comments]

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