Beginning in the early 1950s, Ivy League schools saw a need to maintain academic standards for athletic recruits in an ever more competitive recruiting environment. To this end, the member schools devised a numeric system which took into account students' class rank, SAT I and SAT II scores. Originally, the academic index (AI) was used only to compare the academic credentials of athletic recruits to those of the average student at a particular Ivy. In order to have an average with which to compare athletes, the schools computed the AI of each of their students. By the early 1960s, every application folder in an Ivy League admissions office bore on its cover a student's AI.

For general non-athletics admissions, each school uses a scoring system which takes into account a student's grades, academic rigor, test scores, extracurricular activities, recommendations and personal essay. The academic index often closely tracks a students grades, academic rigor, and test scores, and, as such, it represents a fair assessment of approximately half of what goes into any admissions decision.

Computing the AI for individual students is not complicated. Students receive a score from 20-80 for their SAT Is (the SAT I is the test commonly referred to as The SAT and is currently scored from 600-2400 - the writing score is not yet used in the Academic Index), from 20-80 for their three SAT II's (formerly called Achievement Tests, each SAT II is scored from 200-800 and tests one of a variety of subjects ranging from pre-calculus to science to history to foreign language), and a Class Rank Score (CRS) from 20-80 based on the student's rank and class size. The AI thus ranges from 60-240; a score above 210 is usually required for a student to gain admissions to an Ivy League or equivalent school if the student is not an athlete, alumni, or from a recruited demographic.

The table below shows the increase in the AI of two students profiled in Focused Coaching's brochure.