Life in the college admissions space made so much sense before the pandemic. Everyone shared a general understanding of what schools valued and how applicants could set themselves apart and signal readiness and fit to the institutions of their choice. Once COVID hit, every bedrock truth about teaching and learning seemed to come into question as many educators and pundits alike adopted a stance that tests didn’t actually tell all that much.
Things have changed since those first scary months when schools shut down. The counterargument that test scores carry validity and help rather than hinder equitable outcomes has gained credence. More and more colleges have followed internal and external research to tip towards test-preferred policies, but the public still seems uncertain about whether submitting test scores makes sense or is even necessary.
With hope, David Leonhardt’s newest higher ed piece in the New York Times will add some clarity to the conversation. In The Misguided War on the SAT, Leonhardt explains what has changed:
After the Covid pandemic made it difficult for high school students to take the SAT and ACT, dozens of selective colleges dropped their requirement that applicants do so. Colleges described the move as temporary, but nearly all have since stuck to a test-optional policy. It reflects a backlash against standardized tests that began long before the pandemic, and many people have hailed the change as a victory for equity in higher education.
Now, though, a growing number of experts and university administrators wonder whether the switch has been a mistake. Research has increasingly shown that standardized test scores contain real information, helping to predict college grades, chances of graduation and post-college success. Test scores are more reliable than high school grades, partly because of grade inflation in recent years.
Without test scores, admissions officers sometimes have a hard time distinguishing between applicants who are likely to do well at elite colleges and those who are likely to struggle. Researchers who have studied the issue say that test scores can be particularly helpful in identifying lower-income students and underrepresented minorities who will thrive. These students do not score as high on average as students from affluent communities or white and Asian students. But a solid score for a student from a less privileged background is often a sign of enormous potential.
“Standardized test scores are a much better predictor of academic success than high school grades,” Christina Paxson, the president of Brown University, recently wrote. Stuart Schmill — the dean of admissions at M.I.T., one of the few schools to have reinstated its test requirement — told me, “Just getting straight A’s is not enough information for us to know whether the students are going to succeed or not.”
I strongly recommend reading the full article for context and statistics. In summary, most colleges respect the information standardized tests provide but cannot always push for testing in a political environment that mistakes effects for causes (OK, maybe I added some commentary there!)
College applicants should still take the SAT and/or ACT– after preparing effectively, of course–and submit scores that enhance their applications, especially when seeking seats at selective or highly selective schools. More important, students should focus on building the kind of strong reading, writing, and math skills that lead to great test scores, because those are the skills needed to succeed in higher education. The testing wheel may be turning, but certain facts remain eternal in the face of fickle public opinion.
Mike Bergin