When Colleges Say 'Good Riddance' to Standardized Testing, Do Prospective Students Benefit?
As we finally approach a post-pandemic era, we’ve become almost immune to the two years of test-optional rhetoric that has been broadcasted from some colleges and their admissions offices.
It was completely understandable for colleges to make the necessary allowances for test flexibility with the closing of schools and test centers; but with life settling back into a regular routine and students back in classrooms and test centers, are students still benefiting from colleges adhering to their test-optional policies?
Test-Optional Colleges Still Consider Test Scores
We feel that it’s always important to note that much of what is said of colleges going test-optional and rumors of the demise of standardized testing is greatly dramatized and exaggerated.
The truth is that test-optional colleges still consider submitted test scores and use those data points to determine a prospective student's academic fit and readiness for their school.
For those of us who have followed the ebb and flow of testing during the pandemic, this isn’t news. However, for parents and students who are just tuning in, it’s easy for them to be misled, making it more difficult to decide whether or not to test— particularly when test-optional schools claim that their policies benefit the applicants. But, do they really?
Who and What Benefits From Test-Optional Policies?
We’ve asked ourselves what the point is of colleges remaining test optional or test blind. Why, with students having normal access to testing in schools and test centers, have these schools refused to reinstate their testing mandates? Who or what is benefitting?
Well, let’s take a closer look …
Test Optional: A College Marketing Tool
We’ve noted a distinct increase in applications to colleges —particularly to top-tier schools. However, we’ve not seen an increase in the number of students admitted to those schools. What that tells us is that colleges are encouraging lesser-qualified students to apply to their reach schools, and that only high-achieving students continue to be admitted. Oof.
To back this claim, in American Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century: Social, Political, and Economic Challenges. Fourth Edition, Slaughter and Rhoades (2016) made a skeptical argument against test-optional colleges, noting that the more students that apply to a college, the more sought-after the school appears, which raises the school’s selectivity profile. What’s more, those “test-optional” schools also supply the average standardized test scores submitted (since applicants who include their scores with their applications typically only do so if their scores are high), thus also contributing to a higher selectivity profile. Double oof.
So, clearly, going test optional is a huge boon for colleges, and a pretty darn savvy marketing tool, too.
Test-Optional: Benefits for Legacy Admits
If you want to dig a little deeper and find any proof that students benefit from test-optional policies, look no further than legacy admissions. Dropping the standardized test score requirement only swings the door wide open for the well-off descendants of elite college alumni who find themselves having even less to prove to get admitted to select schools. Ugh.
The ACT® and SAT® act as equalizers. These tests do not see social or economic status, race, gender, or any personal circumstances. These tests are uniform and regulated, and serve only to prove academic readiness—without favor.
Test Optional and Ethnic Diversity
In a recent post, we outlined the reasoning behind schools dropping their testing requirements in a push for a more diverse student body. However, what was found is that test-optional policies have greatly failed to increase diversity. Moreover, we have found that schools that have continued to require applicants to submit test scores are those that have the highest diversity ratings in the country —proof that standardized tests are helping disadvantaged students have a fair shot at being accepted to their choice schools.
Why Some Schools are Reversing Their Test-Optional Policies
In recent news, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) shared its decision to reinstate its standardized testing mandate for all admissions cycles going forward— a massive reminder of the importance of these tests and their role in the college admissions process.
Not only has MIT highlighted the value of standardized testing, but it has also pointed out how unreliable the dependence on grades and GPA really is in determining academic readiness.
In a time of grade inflation, boosted GPAs, and padded resumes, ACT® and SAT® scores provide a means for students to accurately demonstrate commensurable preparation for higher education and a quick metric to showcase academic prowess.
Student Benefits of Standardized Testing and Submitted Test Scores
Consider the advantages that students who submit solid test scores have: an increased chance of admission as well as access to financial aid and scholarships. And even test-optional schools offer these benefits to students, rewarding them for their high scores and academic achievements.
So, it only makes sense to gather that as long as there are advantages attached to submitted test scores, then the promotion and advocation of test-optional schools puts students who do not submit test scores at a major disadvantage.
Mark my words: test scores are a major data point for admissions when students are considered for admission and aid.
The best advice for college-bound students is to submit a strong test score that will both demonstrate a quantitative aptitude and prove academic readiness, thus strengthening their application and their value to the incoming class.
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