Four years ago, “test optional” became the buzz phrase surrounding the college application process. As colleges re-examined their standardized testing requirements due to COVID-19 restrictions, parents and students alike rallied around the opportunity to ditch those dreaded bubble tests.
While their hope became a reality in the fall of 2020 with hundreds of colleges adopting test optional admissions policies, the impact of this major change on the admissions landscape was unpredictable. Would dropping the test requirement lead to a less biased college admissions process? Or would the lack of test scores hinder the ability to adequately compare and contrast applicants in order to accept those students with the most promising academic future? Only time would tell.
Data collected over the last four years reveals the pertinent role of standardized test scores in the college admissions process. Compared to high school grades, standardized test scores are a better predictor of college performance.
“Research has increasingly shown that standardized test scores contain real information, helping to predict college grades, chances of graduation and post-college success,” wrote New York Times contributor David Leonhardt in his article The Misguided War on the SATs.
According to ThinkTank, 40% of undergraduate students drop out of college and only 12% return to earn a college degree at a different institution. These statistics are not stellar considering it’s beneficial for both colleges and students when an applicant starts and completes his or her college degree at the same school.
Recent data also sheds light on the correlation between standardized test performance and economic advantage. It isn’t as straightforward as some may think. Although SAT scores are correlated with parent income level, there is a similar correlation between parent income level and GPA.
Because a standardized test is the same for everyone, it can actually level an uneven playing field. Without test scores, admission reps focus solely on extracurricular activities, essays, teacher recommendations, and grades, which can actually be more biased than standardized test scores.
Students of affluent parents often boast of participation in more elite activities and sports that look good on a college application but are not always accessible to students from less privileged backgrounds. Students with these kinds of activities and experiences also benefit from a wider expanse of topics to choose from when writing the college essay.
As University of Maryland professor Melissa Kearney wrote on social media, standardized testing has become “another policy instance where doing what “feels good” turns out to be counterproductive.”
“When you don’t have test scores, the students who suffer most are those with high grades at relatively unknown high schools, the kind that rarely send kids to the Ivy League,” Harvard economist David Deming commented. “The SAT is their lifeline.”
Despite this data the majority of colleges remain test optional, if only temporarily. M.I.T. is one of the few highly selective schools that has reinstated the test score submission requirement for admissions consideration.
“Once we brought the test requirement back, we admitted the most diverse class that we ever had in our history,” M.I.T.’s Admissions Dean Stuart Schmill said. In the school’s current freshman class, 38% of students are white while 71% hail from minority backgrounds.
Meanwhile, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Princeton, and most likely Yale, have extended their test admissions policy through the class of 2028. Harvard and Princeton extensions cover through the class of 2030, and Columbia has extended their policy indefinitely.
Although Brown remains test optional, in To Test or Not to Test, Christina Paxson, the President of Brown University, acknowledges the benefit of standardized test scores in admissions decisions.
“Careful statistical work by one of Brown’s faculty members shows that students with higher SAT or ACT scores are less likely to encounter academic difficulty at Brown,” Paxson stated. “And standardized test scores are a much better predictor of academic success than high school grades, which are exceptional for the vast majority of Brown applicants but also carry the complication of being increasingly subject to grade inflation.”
How does this influence the decision to submit or withhold test scores when applying to college?
In truth, not much has changed since the advent of test optional policies. Standardized testing remains a key indicator of academic success on the college level, and these scores can be just as important, if not more, than a student’s GPA.
Students should plan on submitting SAT or ACT test scores and only lean on the test optional policy if their highest score does not land in the average score range of a specific college. The goal is to submit a test score when it is advantageous to do so.
Start by taking a practice test of the SAT and ACT, then compare scores to determine which test showcases the most strengths. After choosing a test and taking it the first time, identify weaker areas from the test score report to study before testing again. Do your best to score within the average range of your top schools and submit those scores for a more competitive application.
Don’t let standardized testing bring you down- use it to prove your future success in college!