Test experts and campus minority leaders interviewed this week say the results disclosed in a confidential report on admissions data only confirm their belief that the Scholastic Aptitude Test discriminates against certain ethnic and economic groups.

The report, published by the Consortium on Financing Higher Education, an organization of 32 private colleges, compiled admit rates and SAT scores on the basis of ethnicity. Data showed that SAT scores for most minorities in the class of 1995 were below the overall average.

At Harvard, Black students in the Class of 1995 averaged 1290, Hispanics scored 1310, Asian Americans averaged 1450 and whites averaged 1400. The overall average score for Harvard was 1390.

Experts and minority students say the scores do not accurately reflect students' aptitude because the minority groups which score lower often come from less privileged economic backgrounds. Questions on the test are often biased in favor of the more privileged student, according to stud- ies by Fairtest, a Cambridge-based "national center for fair and open testing."

Dean of Financial Aid and Admissions William R. Fitzsimmons '67 last week minimized the importance of SAT scores, as they are "only one of the many criteria" in the admissions process.

But those opposing the SAT go even further, contending that the test is a worthless criterion.

"The SAT is Trivial Pursuit--how one can answer 145 questions in a very short period with no context and in many instances no thought does not tell you anything about a person's ability to succeed in college," says Robert A. Schaeffer, public education director at Fairtest.

La Vonda Williams '93-94, who is Black, says the test "clearly does not show aptitude" and that background directly influences student performance.

"Perhaps [the test scores] show the nature of the test or the experiences of the people who have taken the test" but it is not an accurate measure of academic ability, Williams says.

High-priced test preparation courses can train students to master the SAT, but are often inaccessible to students of lower socio-economic background, says Xavier A. Gutierrez '95, vice-president of Raza.

"If you have access to review programs like Princeton Review, you can master the test. But it's a matter if you have access to the resources to [enroll in such a program]," he says.

Schaeffer says numerous studies indicate that SAT questions discriminate against minorities and less privileged students.

A Fairtest report cites examples of biased metaphors in the verbal section, such as "dividends is to stock-holders" and "checkmate is to chess."

Alvin L. Bragg '95, president of the Black Students' Association, says from his personal experience he believes the test is biased, both socio-economically and racially.

Bragg says passages in the reading comprehension section of the test were "remote" from his experiences despite his education at a private preparatory school in New York City.

"It was a barrier I had to overcome," Bragg says. "The argument that it's a socio-economic bias and not a race bias is wrong."