Do State ACT®/SAT® Graduation Requirements Align with State College Admissions?
In certain U.S. states, high school students are mandated to take standardized tests such as the ACT® or SAT® to fulfill graduation requirements.
For example, the following states require high school students to take the ACT® to graduate:
These states use the SAT® as a high school graduation requirement:
In other states, school districts and/or high school students can choose either the ACT® or SAT® as a graduation requirement:
But are the state high school graduation requirements the same as the state college admissions in these particular states?
Is There A State Testing Requirement Correlation?
The connection between states requiring high school graduates to take standardized tests and state colleges requiring standardized test scores for admission is not necessarily direct.
For example, you’ll notice that a few states, such as Florida and Georgia, are missing from the ACT®/SAT®-required categories above, and yet Florida State University and the University of Georgia do require ACT® or SAT® scores for first-year students.
Tennessee is on the list of either ACT® or SAT® as a high school graduation requirement and the University of Tennessee has continued the same ACT® or SAT® requirement for all first-year undergraduate students.
On the other hand, Delaware and Kentucky are on the list requiring the SAT® and ACT®, respectively, for high school graduation but their state schools, such as the University of Delaware and the University of Kentucky, do not require ACT® or SAT® scores for admissions.
What Influences Each State’s Requirements?
The prerequisites for high school graduation and admission into colleges and universities within each state are not uniformly defined and can greatly differ. In the current educational climate, these variations are greatly influenced by several factors:
Institutional Policies: Each college or university has its own set of policies that dictate its admission requirements. These policies are often tailored to align with the institution’s academic goals and student profile.
Competitive Nature of Admissions: The competitiveness of the admissions process can also influence testing requirements. Highly competitive institutions might maintain test score requirements to manage the large volume of applications they receive.
Trends in Higher Education: Broader trends in the field of higher education also play a role. For instance, there has been a growing movement towards holistic admissions processes that consider multiple aspects of a student’s profile beyond just test scores.
Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic brought about significant changes in the landscape of college admissions. Many colleges and universities adopted temporary or permanent test-optional policies during this period. This meant that students could choose whether or not to submit their standardized test scores as part of their application. Post-pandemic, some of these institutions have reinstated their testing requirements, as we’ve seen with MIT and Dartmouth, while others have decided to continue with their test-optional policies.
However, we’ve also seen these test-optional policies inhibit and even deter students from showcasing their academic prowess through high-score submissions.
While there may be some correlation between states that require ACT® or SAT® scores for high school graduation and those that require them for college admissions, it is not a direct or consistent relationship.
Smart Planning
ACT® and SAT® scores greatly benefit students in highlighting their practical skills (like reading comprehension, English grammar, and real-world math) and their analytical abilities as well as academic aptitude and achievement. In higher education, standardized tests like the ACT® and SAT® are used to evaluate a prospective student’s college readiness and academic fit and can help admissions officers predict first-year performance, retention, and graduation rates.
Whether your clients are preparing for the ACT® or SAT® as a high school graduation requirement, or striving to enhance their college admission prospects, it’s crucial to motivate them to aim high and submit their highest ACT®/SAT® scores with their college applications. Regardless of whether test scores are mandatory or merely recommended, admissions officers take note of those scores. A solid ACT® or SAT® score will always shine a spotlight on a prospective student and help them stand out from the rest of the applicant pool.
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