Test Optional is Key to Making Colleges Reflect America

Now that the COVID pandemic is "over" and a few selective colleges are reintroducing exam requirements, I wanted to write a new blog post about test-optional/free admissions.

Selective colleges returning to requiring exams under the guise of "diversity" efforts and "finding diamonds in the rough" is very disingenuous considering the white supremacist origins of the SAT that still has effects today:

The SAT isn't alone in racial disparities. The ACT isn't any better:

People would argue that a student's education plays a role in their success on exams. When we consider where schools are located, it's no secret that income plays a role in testing success, as shown by College Board with the SAT:

Students who live in wealthier zip codes are more likely to attend well-resourced public and private schools and have access to test prep and testing sites. Since College Board switched the SAT to a digital exam, students still struggle to find a sit for a Saturday administration. For example, there was only one test center site open in New York City a month out before the registration deadline for the October SAT, which is the last SAT seniors who are applying Early Decision/Action could take. I've seen countless stories from counselors talking about their students traveling GREAT distances to find a seat for the August SAT. I personally know a student who did that. The digital SAT has created a college access issue since low-income students are more likely not to have a computer, public schools are less likely to have reliable open wifi (I know this from personal experience), and can't afford to travel long distances to a testing site.

Simply put, Test Optional (or Free) is the way to go.

FairTest reports that over 90% of four-year colleges and universities are test-optional/free. Test-optional admissions have been around since 1969, starting with Bowdoin College. However, the sigma of testing as a measurement of a student's potential and success in college still promotes falsehood decades later.

Test-optional isn't a trick. Test-optional does not mean "less than." Before the virus outbreak, many excellent schools, like Trinity College, were test-optional. I was happy when my alma mater, Skidmore College, went test-optional in 2016. Now, more students like me have a better chance of a life-changing education.

Students need to understand that a test score on a single day doesn't define their ability and potential. I scored around 900 on the SAT. The Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) allowed me to attend Skidmore. I was third in my high school class and took half the APs at my under-resourced high school in Downtown Brooklyn. My SAT score didn't speak to my love of education. From the perspective of testing propaganda, I wouldn't have graduated from college on time because of my score, where I went to school, my neighborhood, and because I am first-generation.

Speaking of Skidmore, admissions told me that since the school made testing optional almost a decade ago, there have been no significant differences in success between test submitters and non-submitters.

Bates College has been test-optional for over 25 years. The school reported a .03 difference in GPA between test-submitters and non-submitters.

In 2022, Wake Forest cited a 0.13 difference in the first year to .03 by graduation.

In 2014, an extensive study on students at test-optional colleges comparing those who did and did not submit SAT or ACT scores found "virtually no difference in academic performance" between them. 

A 2018 study of 28 colleges cited a .10 to .18 difference and that nonsubmitters graduated at a higher rate.

As a college counselor who has worked in under-resourced schools, it always hurts to witness a bright student not given a chance to go away to college because of their test score. Testing robs these students of the opportunity to focus on school to become the best versions of themselves. It's time for this cycle to come to an end. I'm hopeful that colleges that have gone test-optional during the COVID pandemic will realize test scores prevented them from attaining a campus that genuinely reflects our world.

To the students worried about colleges that still require test scores for admissions and scholarships, you must question whether those colleges value you and your life experiences. Focus on researching colleges, writing your college essays, outside scholarships, especially the full-ride ones, and finishing your senior year strong. Destiny will also determine where you will be. Any college would be blessed to have you. As a student, put your health first. You are more significant than your test scores.