Frequently Asked Questions

How do I contact ACES?

How much does it cost to do an ACES validity study?

When can we request a validity study from ACES?

How do we get user account and password information for the ACES system?

What types of colleges and universities can use ACES?

How does ACES keep our student data files secure?

Is ACES in compliance with FERPA regulations?

May I get a copy of a sample validity report?

Is a written agreement required to participate in ACES?

When will we get our ACES admission or placement validity study?

How frequently can we request a study from ACES?

Can we use scores from our local tests as predictors in ACES studies?

Which College Board testing programs are supported by ACES?

Can I save my ACES study design online and return to it later?

Can we pull up our old ACES study request and resubmit it with a new data file?

We do our own validity studies. Why would we want to do an ACES study?

I don’t have a statistical background; will I find an ACES report hard to interpret?

What is the National SAT Validity Study?

How do I look up a student’s high school attending institution code (AI code)?

How do I use the Quality Assurance report to determine my errors?

Can we include ACT scores as a predictor in my ACES study?

What’s the minimum number of students needed for an admission validity study?

The cohort we want to study has fewer than 50 students; can we do an admission validity study?

How should we choose predictors for an admission validity study?

Can we include part-time students in our sample for an admission validity study?

How should we handle student course grades of Fail, Incomplete, or Withdraw?

Can we include students who don't complete their first year in our admission validity study?

Can we include students who are missing SAT scores in our admission validity study?

Can we include international students in our admission validity study?

We don’t capture HSGPAs in our student information system; is this a problem?

How can I include special subgroup analyses in my admission validity study?

Why would we want to request additional subgroups in an admission validity study?

How many predictors can I include in my admission validity study?

Do I need to submit a new data file for a placement study based on students analyzed in our admission study?

Can we get placement information for our math and English courses at the same time?

We use SAT scores for admission. How can we tell if they could help us in placement?

Can we include students with Pass/Fail grades in our placement validity study?

Can we include students with Fail, Incomplete, or Withdraw grades?

What’s the minimum number of students needed for a placement validity study?

How should we collect data for a placement validity study?

How many semesters of data are required for a study?

Can I include more than one cohort?

What if there is no specified sequent course?

Are grades required?

What if we only give placement for AP Exam scores and not course credit?

What if we only give course credit for AP Exam scores and not placement into a more advanced course?

What if our policy awards credit for more than one course?

What if students can earn course credit through other pathways, such as dual enrollment?

Can I conduct subgroup analyses or include control variables in the study?

May I send my student data file to ACES by email instead of uploading it?

Which format must I use to submit my student data to ACES?

How should I label our student data file?

Where can I get a data layout to give to the person who’s creating my data file?

I am having problems uploading my data to ACES. What is wrong?

What’s the minimum number of students needed for a retention study?

How should we choose predictors for a retention study?

Can we include students who are missing SAT scores in our retention study?

Which score(s) will be used in the analysis?

We don’t capture HSGPAs in our student information system. Is this a problem?

How can I include special subgroup analyses in my retention study?

How many predictors can I include in my retention study?

What is a retention descriptor in an ACES Retention Study?

When can I conduct an ACES Completion Study?

What is the minimum number of students needed for a completion study?

How should we choose predictors for a completion study?

Can we include students who are missing SAT scores in our completion study?

Which score(s) will be used in the analysis?

We do not capture HSGPAs in our student information system. Is this a problem?

We have different HSGPA scales in our student information system. Is this a problem?

How can I include special subgroup analyses in my completion study?

How many predictors can I include in my completion study?

What is a completion descriptor in an ACES Completion Study, and how is that incorporated in the study?

Can I study the HSGPA supplied by my own institution or does that need to be the HSGPA from the ACES database?

Can I include cohorts from prior to the 2017 entering cohort in a Year-over-Year study?

If I didn’t submit all of the previous cohort files from my institution, how can I conduct a Year-over-Year study in ACES?

What is the limit to the number of cohorts and number of academic years that I can examine in a Year-over-Year?

Can we examine subgroups in a Year-over-Year study?

Can we examine our institution-provided additional predictors in a Year-over-Year study?

Can we conduct AP, CLEP, SAT Placement or ACCUPLACER Year-over-Year studies?

Is there a matched file associated with a Year-over-Year study?

What if I would like to review my previous ACES reports and files before submitting a Year-over-Year study?

What if I decide to add or remove a submission after confirming my selections in my ACES Year-over-Year study?