State of ACT/SAT-Optional Admission & Test-Optional Surge
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Crossing the Finish Line: Completing
Crossing the Finish Line: Completing
College at America’s Public Universities
College at America’s Public Universities
High school grades are a far better predictor of graduation rates than are
High school grades are a far better predictor of graduation rates than are
ACT/SAT scores
ACT/SAT scores
Heavy reliance on ACT/SAT scores
Heavy reliance on ACT/SAT scores
can
have a negative impact on
have a negative impact on
diversity
diversity
The strong predictive power of high school GPA holds even when we
The strong predictive power of high school GPA holds even when we
know little or nothing about the quality of high school attended
know little or nothing about the quality of high school attended
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Defining Access: How Test-Optional Works
Defining Access: How Test-Optional Works
Data from 28 institutions with test-optional policies
More than 950,000 individual applicants
Near universal increase in applicants
Boost in underrepresented minorities, Pell grantees,
Graduation rates as good or better than students who
applied with ACT/SAT scores
Available on NACACnet.org
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University of California admission testing requirements review and lawsuit
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“Cost” savings – financial and
emotional in a time of widespread
economic and psychological disruption
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Evaluation as “More Than a Score” for
an over-tested generation while
sending “Enough is Enough” message
to standardized exam overkill
•
Belief by many teenagers that
ACT/SAT results “obscure my
academic talents”
•
Test-optional schools no longer
viewed as potentially “inferior”
•
No test is worth risking my life to take!
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College and University Admission” and
Crossing the
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Universities
•
The Scandal of Standardized Tests: Why We Need to
Drop the SAT and ACT
– new Teachers College Press
book
•
“Turning the Tide” Harvard Univ. report
•
Positive experiences and supporting data reported by
peer institutions
•
Review of school’s mission, desired student body
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Internal, institution-specific research on predictive validity
and disparate impact
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Many applicants can’t take tests even if they wanted to
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admissions offices will have to adapt to remain attractive.
•
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Your Questions
and Comments
The surge of test-optional admissions has seen a significant rise pre-COVID-19, with many institutions dropping ACT/SAT scores and a growing number of colleges adopting test-optional policies. This shift is evident nationally and regionally, with more colleges making admissions decisions without considering test scores. The positive impacts of this trend include increased access and opportunity for students. FairTest is actively working with numerous schools to evaluate ACT/SAT requirements.
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Is Standardized Testing Teetering ? The State of ACT/SAT-Optional Admission Bob Schaeffer, interim Executive Director FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing bobschaeffer@fairtest.org December 11, 2020
The Test Optional Surge pre-COVID-19 Trends 51 test-optional adoptions in 2019 admissions cycle, the fastest growth rate ever. 160 institutions dropped ACT/SAT scores from 2015-2019 (since redesigned SAT) Many more top-tier liberal arts colleges from all parts of the U.S. (e.g. Alma, Augsburg, Austin, Beloit, Birmingham-Southern, Colby, DePauw, Hiram, High Point, Kalamazoo, LaSalle, Ripon, Skidmore, Trinity, Wofford, Whitman, Willamette, etc.) Sharp increase in national and regional universities (e.g. Brandeis, Catholic U., Duquesne, George Washington, Hartford, Hofstra, Immaculata, Niagara, St. John s, University of Chicago)
The Test Optional Surge pre-COVID-19 Trends - II Wave of public campuses (e.g. Ball State, Delaware, Evergreen State, Indiana State, Keene State, Maryland Eastern Shore, Kean, Montclair State, New Hampshire, Old Dominion, Oregon State, Rider, Temple, SUNY Purchase, UMass. - Lowell, Western Illinois, Western Oregon, Worcester State) One Test-Blind college (Hampshire) Dozens of additional schools in the test- optional pipeline FairTest working with at many schools evaluating ACT/SAT, including
The Test Optional Surge Status as of March 10, 2020 1,070 accredited, 4-year institutions made admissions decisions about all or many applicants without regard to ACT/SAT scores 360+ test-optional, test-flexible and test-blind schools ranked in top tiers of their U.S. News categories More than half of Top 100 national liberal arts colleges had test-optional admissions policies. ~25% of Top 250 national universities made many admissions decisions without regard to test scores.
The Test Optional Surge Status as of March 10, 2020 More than half of all colleges and universities in each of the eight northeast states are ACT/SAT-optional (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey) Similar pattern developing in several other jurisdictions (e.g. District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia) Test-optional policies beginning to spread into South, Midwest, and West
The Test Optional Surge Evidence about Positive Impacts Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at America s Public Universities High school grades are a far better predictor of graduation rates than are ACT/SAT scores Heavy reliance on ACT/SAT scores can have a negative impact on diversity The strong predictive power of high school GPA holds even when we know little or nothing about the quality of high school attended
The Test Optional Surge Evidence about Positive Impacts Defining Access: How Test-Optional Works Data from 28 institutions with test-optional policies More than 950,000 individual applicants Near universal increase in applicants Boost in underrepresented minorities, Pell grantees, Graduation rates as good or better than students who applied with ACT/SAT scores Available on NACACnet.org
The Test-Optional Surge Accelerating Forces ACT/SAT overseas cheating scandals Varsity Blues College Board s Landscape initiative (formerly Environmental Context Dashboard, Adversity Score, etc.) Anti-affirmative action lawsuits Harvard, UNC-Chapel Hill New reports and more data (e.g. Georgetown study on disparate impact of SAT Only admissions) University of California admission testing requirements review and lawsuit Success of peer institutions that went test-optional
The Test-Optional Tsunami Initial Impacts of COVID-19 Public classrooms across the U.S. shut with efforts to move instruction online School-based admissions testing sites closed Spring administrations of ACT and SAT cancelled with no certainty of when, where, or how testing will resume Colleges closed down; reopening plans remain unclear Teenagers, their families and counselors left in limboabout the admissions process, adding to the many pressures they face from the pandemic.
The Test-Optional Tsunami Higher Education Admissions Reacts to COVID-19 600+ more schools announce test-optional policies for Fall 2021 applicants, some for only one-year but others launching two- or three-year pilot programs, and dozens more permanently eliminating scores. All the nation s most-selective private universities waive testing requirements ( Ivies, Duke, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Stanford, USC, etc.). Every major public system suspends standardized exams for Fall 2021 except for the Florida University System. All University of California campuses are now test-blind and will phase out ACT/SAT requirements. 550+ admissions leaders sign statement that Test-Optional Means Test-OPTIONAL pledging that they will not penalize applicants who do not submit ACT/SAT scores
The Test Optional Tsunami Status as of December 11, 2020 1,675+accredited bachelor-degree granting institutions will make admissions decisions about all or many applicants without regard to ACT/SAT scores for Fall 2021, close to half of all such schools. 920+ test-optional, test-flexible and test-blind schools are ranked in top tiers of their U.S. News categories Nearly all of Top 100 national liberal arts colleges have test-optional admissions policies. 95+% of Top 200 national universities make admissions decisions about many applicants without regard to test scores.
Why Test Optional ? Why Test Optional ? The Applicant s Perspective The Applicant s Perspective Cost savings financial and emotional in a time of widespread economic and psychological disruption Evaluation as More Than a Score for an over-tested generation while sending Enough is Enough message to standardized exam overkill Belief by many teenagers that ACT/SAT results obscure my academic talents Test-optional schools no longer viewed as potentially inferior No test is worth risking my life to take!
Why Test Optional? Why Test Optional? The Admissions Office Perspective The Admissions Office Perspective Data in major research studies Defining Promise: Optional Standardized Testing Policies in American College and University Admission and Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at America s Public Universities The Scandal of Standardized Tests: Why We Need to Drop the SAT and ACT new Teachers College Press book Turning the Tide Harvard Univ. report Positive experiences and supporting data reported by peer institutions Review of school s mission, desired student body Internal, institution-specific research on predictive validity and disparate impact Many applicants can t take tests even if they wanted to
Major Results of Test Major Results of Test- -Optional Policies Optional Policies More applicants, often many more Academically stronger applicant pool (HSGPA, class rank, etc.) More diversity of all sorts (race, first generation, low-income, geography, academic interests, learning differences) [N]o significant differences in undergraduate success between test-score submitters and non- submitters (per Defining Promise )
Test Optional Admissions What Happens Next? COVID-19 test waivers and temporary ACT/SAT-optional policies create natural experiments for assessing value of dropping tests Historically pilot test-optional policies usually become permanent With so many schools of all types not requiring ACT/SAT scores, fewer teens graduating from high schools, and COVID-19 uncertainty many admissions offices will have to adapt to remain attractive. Experiences of the University of California and the California State University will provide models for other large public systems.
Test Optional Admissions FairTest s Projection Many more institutions extend test-optional policies, including additional name brand schools and state systems Studies of students admitted without scores show that they succeed academicallyat roughly the same level as those with ACT/SAT results. The experiences of peer institutions lead schools to stay test-optional.So do student demand and demographics The ACT and SAT do not disappear but become much less important in admissions, more like SAT Subject Tests. Hyper-selective schools may still require them, but most colleges and universities (serving a majority of undergrads) do not. More schools decouple ACT/SAT scores from financial aid. Test scores do not measure merit !
For more information: Bob Schaeffer, interim Executive Director FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing (239) 395-6773 lists and much more available for free at: http://www.fairtest.org/optional
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