More than 1,500 colleges nationwide no longer require prospective students to submit standardized test scores with their applications. Some are abandoning standardized testing altogether.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which made standardized testing difficult in 2020, is the primary driver for the recent surge in test-optional policies, but many education experts believe that many more colleges than in previous years will retain the option even after the pandemic has ended.
One reason is that many, though not all, studies have indicated that emphasizing SAT or ACT test scores puts at a disadvantage low-income and minority high school students who may not have access to test prep classes or materials. Some educators have decried the tests as a racist sorting mechanism. However, ongoing research indicates that the alternative is not better — that emphasizing grade point average and essay-writing abilities during the admissions process also may be discriminatory.
In attempting to solve one inequity, the gatekeepers to the higher education system must beware of contributing to another. Colleges must be wary of focusing on any single piece of a student’s application; thus, standardized testing still should play a role in the admissions process.
Wiping out test scores means admissions staff will end up placing more emphasis on essays and GPA and high school coursework. This is problematic. A study by Stanford University examined 240,000 admissions essays to explore the relationship between reported income, essay content and SAT scores. The study found that essays actually correlate to household income at a higher rate than SAT scores.
A majority of colleges require at least one essay for admissions in the form of a personal statement. In reducing or eliminating a reliance on standardized testing scores, colleges are potentially turning to an even more class-coordinated assessment.
Other research indicates that high schoolers’ grade point averages may be a somewhat better indicator of success in college than standardized test scores. However, in recent years, significant grade inflation by high schools is making this figure less reliable. Scholars are unsure what is causing the trend of inflated grades, but research shows that it is most prevalent at wealthier, primarily white high schools. So, GPA, too, is suspect.
At the University of California, a task force spent a year studying the issue and determined in 2020 that testing actually did not worsen disparities for minority applicants. Another study of 180 liberal arts institutions in the journal Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis from 2015 determined that testing-optional policies did not increase diversity on campuses.
No single test or essay or school report card can capture a student’s potential or predict success or failure. But, in an effort to give fair opportunity to all applicants for higher education, colleges and universities should seek more information about the applicant, not less. Standardized test scores are one more bit of information in an imperfect assessment process.
— Tribune News Service
