Why All Colleges Should Have Test-optional Admissions
Three years ago when the test-optional policy didn’t exist, I witnessed my two older friends with similar academic records apply to the Ivy League schools. Although they both worked hard in school and achieved at a high level, one had some advantages that the other did not when it came to preparing for the SAT. Josh went to expensive SAT prep tutoring lessons every weekend, and Amelia worked hard on the free study guides she found online. In the end, Amelia’s score was not as high as Josh’s score. When college decisions were released, Josh found out that he was accepted by Columbia, while Amelia didn’t get into any top universities. Witnessing this made me question the college application process, especially the role that standardized testing plays in college admissions. Is it really fair to evaluate the test scores of Josh and Amelia based on the same standards?
In the college application process, the last barrier students need to cross is the Scholastic Aptitude Test, also known as the SAT. For most high school students who want to attend an elite college, the SAT isn’t simply a test: it is more like a determinator of their future lives. Each year, roughly 2 million students in the United States take the SAT (Camera). During the pandemic, several colleges decided to become test-optional in order to accommodate the large number of students who lacked access to testing sites and high-quality online learning, but now colleges are considering bringing back the SAT as part of their admissions process.
Take M.I.T. as an example. A New York Times article “M.I.T. Will Again Require SAT and ACT Scores” suggests that students applying to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will have to submit their standardized testing scores in 2022 (Cramer and Medina). The decision reignited discussion over the value of the SAT in college admissions and if other colleges should follow M.I.T. For example, Bob Schaeffer, executive director at the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, noted that M.I.T. has made “an unfortunate decision” (Cramer and Medina). Critics of the SAT say that a merit-based focus comes at the expense of equity, and relying on standardized test scores benefits wealthier students and puts minority and low-income students at a disadvantage (Silva).
However, some colleges believe that these scores offer a more objective metric for consideration of students because high school grading systems can vary (Felce). “Our ability to accurately predict student academic success at MIT is significantly improved by considering standardized testing,” said the M.I.T. Dean of Admissions, Stu Schmill (Wren). While I acknowledge the point made by Schmill on the efficiency of the SAT in the admissions process, the SAT remains unfair to a lot of students. Students who do not have access to expensive tutoring will not score as highly on the test as those who do have these options.
The SAT has been a part of America’s undeniably racist and classist system for generations. A national admissions test expert named Jay Rosner revealed in his 2003 study that the choice of questions were designed at a disadvantage for Black students. Experimental SAT test questions that resulted in better scores for Black students compared to that of white students were discarded by test authors (Rosner). Moreover, according to the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, white and Asian students had the highest average SAT scores in 2019: 1114 and 1223, respectively. The average scores for Black and Hispanic students were lower: 933 and 978, respectively (Schaeffer). Where students live can dictate where they go to school and the wealthier districts with higher property values and taxes have more fully-funded schools (Semuels). If the SAT continues to be a mandatory part of the college admissions review process, it will continue to gate-keep higher education to a large population of students of color.
These inequities exist not only in terms of race, but also in students’ socioeconomic circumstances. A lot of families in America can’t afford to pay the $50–70 fee for each test (Ibrahimi); meanwhile, the College Board’s CEO, David Coleman, makes $2 million per year while other top executives make $300,000 to $500,000 per year (Marquez R.). The College Board claims to be a “not-for-profit organization” (“We’re the College Board”), but they operate more like a brimming business without taking students’ financial accessibility into consideration. Furthermore, poor students of all races perform lower on standardized tests than wealthier students. A 2013 research paper written by Ezekiel J. Dixon-Roman from University of Pennsylvania and John J. Mcardle from University of Southern California found that students from families with a $10,000 income had an average combined SAT score of 836, while students from families with a $100,000 income had an average score of 1119 (Dixon-RomÁN et al.). Is it reasonable to continue relying on this test as a measure of academic success when the ability to do well on it relates so clearly to social class and economic privilege?
Fortunately, as of today, more than two-thirds of the 2,330 colleges extended making SAT or ACT scores optional at least through fall 2023 (Cramer and Medina). My friend Amelia should’ve spent more time on her extracurriculars rather than focusing on endless SAT practicing problems, as she ended up not able to compete with the tutoring Josh received. MIT should reverse their decision to require the SAT and remain test-optional as the income and race related disparities we notice in the scores are phenomenal. Few elite education opportunities are opening gates to underprivileged students. Therefore, to be fair for all students, what we ultimately need is a continuation of the test-optional policies at colleges to reduce inequality, and meanwhile, those who wish to submit a test score will still be able to do so.
Using one test to determine the fate of an individual’s potential and future is hugely inaccurate and completely unfair. As Michelle Obama once said, “if my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn’t be here” (Ibrahimi). All colleges and universities should offer test-optional admissions in order to ensure the equity of the college admissions process for all students.
Works Cited:
Camera, Lauren. “More Students Are Taking the SAT than Ever Before …” More Students Are Taking the SAT Than Ever Before, 24 Sept. 2019, https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2019-09-24/more-students-are-taking-the-sat-than-ever-before.
Clark, Erin. “M.I.T. Is Reinstating Standardized Testing Requirements.” M.I.T. Will Again Require SAT and ACT Scores, 28 Mar. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/28/education/mit-sat-act-scores-admission.html?searc. Accessed 14 Apr. 2022.
Cramer, Maria, and Eduardo Medina. “M.I.T. Will Again Require SAT and ACT Scores.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 29 Mar. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/28/education/mit-sat-act-scores-admission.html?searchResultPosition=2.
Dixon-RomÁN, Ezekiel J., et al. “Race, Poverty and SAT Scores: Modeling the Influences of Family Income on Black and White High School Students’ Sat Performance.” Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education, vol. 115, no. 4, 2013, pp. 1–33., https://doi.org/10.1177/016146811311500406.
Felce, Ana. “College Admissions: Why Standardized Testing Scores Matter.” Why Standardized Testing Scores Matter for College — Azusa Pacific University, 21 Mar. 2019, https://www.apu.edu/articles/college-admissions-why-standardized-testing-scores-matter/.
Getty Images. “Prominent Education Advocacy Group Democrats for Education Reform Switched from Opposing to Supporting the Bill after the Group Said the Amendment Will Ensure Colorado Colleges Are Enrolling More Diverse Students and Graduating Them at Rates Similar to Their Peers.” Colorado’s Public Colleges May Be Going Test Optional. Will It Help More Students Graduate?, 25 May 2021, https://co.chalkbeat.org/2021/4/28/22408538/colorado-public-colleges-test-optional-bill-advances-amendment-reporting-requirements. Accessed 14 Apr. 2022.
Graylock, Jennifer. “NEW YORK, NY — APRIL 23: President of the College Board David Coleman Attends the 2013 Time 100 Gala at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 23, 2013 in New York City.” A Call For The College Board To Oust David Coleman, 3 June 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2020/06/03/a-call-for-the-college-board-to-oust-david-coleman/?sh=41baca9238b3. Accessed 14 Apr. 2022.
Hill, McGraw. “Students Studying.” What’s the Difference Between Equity and Equality in Education?, 24 Oct. 2018, https://medium.com/inspired-ideas-prek-12/whats-the-difference-between-equity-and-equality-in-education-ef20971e7fda. Accessed 14 Apr. 2022.
Ibrahimi, Yahya. “Standardized Tests Do Not Capture Students’ Skills, Should Be Eliminated.” THE ALGONQUIN HARBINGER, 8 Feb. 2021, https://arhsharbinger.com/24840/opinion/standardized-tests-do-not-capture-students-skills-should-be-eliminated/.
Marquez R., Gabriel. “The College Board Profits off Students’ Anxieties about College Admissions.” Daily Trojan, 16 Sept. 2021, https://dailytrojan.com/2021/09/16/the-college-board-profits-off-students-anxieties-about-college-admissions/.
Rosner, Jay. “On White Preferences.” The Nation, 27 Mar. 2003, https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/white-preferences/.
Schaeffer, Bob. “2019 SAT Scores: Gaps between Demographic Groups Grows Larger.” FairTest, 24 Sept. 2019, https://www.fairtest.org/2019-sat-scores-gaps-between-demographic-groups-gr.
Semuels, Alana. “Good School, Rich School; Bad School, Poor School.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 13 June 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/08/property-taxes-and-unequal-schools/497333/.
Silva, Daniella. “After Mit Reinstates SAT and ACT Mandate, Will Other Colleges Follow?” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 30 Mar. 2022, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mit-reinstates-sat-act-mandate-will-colleges-follow-rcna22093.
“We’re the College Board.” About Our Organization | College Board, https://about.collegeboard.org/#:~:text=College%20Board%20is%20a%20mission,expand%20access%20to%20higher%20education.
Wren, Kathy. “Q&A: Stuart Schmill on MIT’s Decision to Reinstate the SAT/ACT Requirement.” MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 28 Mar. 2022, https://news.mit.edu/2022/stuart-schmill-sat-act-requirement-0328.
