In recent years many colleges have chosen to stop requiring students to submit SAT and ACT scores as part of the admission process. This trend increased in popularity during COVID-19, when many test centers were closed preventing students from being able to take these tests. COVID-19, combined with increased stress levels among students nationwide, colleges created the “test-optional” policies.
Prior to the pandemic colleges had started noting concerns regarding the requirement of SAT and ACT scores due to the concerns about fairness. “Test-optional” was the school’s initiative to create a more equitable admissions process. Currently, there has been talk that colleges or universities may get rid of the test-optional feature and once again make standardized tests an admissions requirement. This has students and teachers worried about these potential changes.
When Ludlow High School teacher Mr. Cangemi, was asked about his thoughts on these potential updates he replied “Test optional seems like a better move.” Some feel this would be a better move because it promotes fairness and accessibility for all students.
A study published in the Harvard Gazette notes the gap in scores as they relate to family income. Liz Meneo, a Harvard Staff Writer, shares the results of a study performed by Raj Chetty, John Friedman, and David Deming that states that children from higher-income families performed better than those from lower-income families.
The belief is that some families are able to afford prep schools and tutors, leading to better test scores. This opinion then puts students with parents with a lower income at a disadvantage. Colleges hope to give all students a fair chance at admission by not requiring these scores, regardless of their financial situation. There are people that argue if a student wants high scores bad enough they will succeed at these tests, but when a student is not given the same opportunities, how is this fair?
Admission officers have started to feel that transcripts, extracurricular activities, essays, and recommendations give a deeper understanding of who the student is. After asking Mr.Cangemi if he felt the SAT or ACT truly defines a student he says “Some people are good at taking standardized tests and some people are not. One test is not a reflection of your intelligence, or work ethic, nor does it predict how well you might perform in college.”
This offers the opinion that elements such as creativity, leadership, and determination can not be measured in these tests. Having students evaluated solely based on a group of factors such as their essays, transcript, and extracurricular activities, offers colleges a deeper understanding of the student.
Mrs. Lekarczyk, a counselor at Ludlow High School adds to this topic by stating “A strong work ethic is determined by one’s motivation, persistence, attendance, and punctuality, leadership abilities, and the ability to handle various tasks without giving up, which all these qualities are not measured/captured on the SAT. A better predictor of one’s work ethic and high performance is a student’s GPA and involvement in various activities and employment.”
Despite these benefits, some colleges are starting to require SAT and ACT scores for the 2025 application season. Higher education institutions feel that the tests help maintain high academic standards which helps by making the admissions process easier for recruiting. With some scholarships being based on test scores, seeing these scores allows for fairness in awarding scholarships.
Some students who tend to agree with this are students who feel that test-taking is easy for them. One student at Ludlow High School, Joe Keroack, spoke about how he benefits tremendously from standardized tests due to the fact that test-taking comes very easy for him. Causing him to “agree with the recent change of colleges getting rid of being test-option because there should be a standard for certain colleges and the SAT is an objective way to test students.”
Showing how some people and schools agree with Joe and feel that these tests measure the academic rigor of a student. But some students feel that their rigor can not be shown on one Saturday morning, they feel as if they are already not good test takers because the timing stresses them out and they feel they are not given a fair advantage to someone who is “good” at taking timed tests.
Mrs. Lekarczyk sheds light on how she agrees that a student should never feel as if one test on a random Saturday morning should be the determining factor of a student’s success by saying “I do not believe that a single test should be the determining factor for getting into college and I believe college admissions take a holistic approach in their reviews of applicants. A single test shouldn’t be the determining factor because there are students who perform poorly on high-stakes exams. Additionally, the SAT measures a specific set of skills and doesn’t capture the full picture of students’ abilities. Taking into consideration students’ background, GPA, rigor of courses, extracurricular activities, community service, personal essays, leadership roles/skills, and recommendations provides a comprehensive picture of a student and their abilities and success.
Overall, while there are arguments for and against the use of SAT and ACT scores in college admissions, it is essential to prioritize fairness and comprehensive student evaluation. Colleges should continue to focus on assessing the whole student, considering various aspects of their academic and personal achievements.