Retaking the SAT
利用三所选择性大学的申请者数据，分析申请者重考SAT的决策，发现仅使用最高分的排名政策对高考试成本、低入学价值或悲观自我认知的申请者不利。
Abstract Using data on applicants to three selective universities, we analyze a college applicant’s decision to retake the SAT. We model this decision as an optimal search problem, and use the model to assess the impact of college admissions policies on retaking behavior. The most common test score ranking policy, which utilizes only the highest of all submitted scores, provides large incentives to retake the test. This places certain applicants at a disadvantage: those with high test-taking costs, those attaching low values to college admission, and those with “pessimistic” prior beliefs regarding their own ability.