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| Columbia University |
Earlier
this month, Columbia University joined a large and growing group
of colleges and universities expressing little or no confidence in standardized
tests used for college admissions. Along
with the University
of Pennsylvania,
Columbia will no longer require applicants to submit SAT Subject Tests or writing sections of the SAT or ACT.
According
to an announcement published on its website,
“Columbia uses a holistic review process when evaluating applicants for
admission, in which grades and test scores are assessed within the broader
context of an applicant’s interests, background, personal qualities and
accomplishments.”
By
removing the Subject Test requirement (in Penn’s case reducing it to a
recommendation) and basically “dissing” the writing tests, Columbia and Penn
are making pretty clear statements about how important a role these tests will play
in admissions decisions going forward.
In fact,
the number of U.S. schools that still “require” the SAT Subject Tests can be
counted on a single person’s hands and toes and most of those allow the ACT to
substitute for all Subject Tests. A quick check on the Compass Prep website shows that only 10 colleges
still require them regardless of whether the ACT or SAT is submitted for
admissions consideration.
And there
are lots of reasons schools might want to step back from their reliance on standardized
tests. But unfortunately, many colleges are failing to do due diligence when it
comes to assessing how much value is added to the admissions process by
requiring the ACT, SAT or SAT Subject Tests.
A report released this month by the National Association for College Admissions
Counseling
(NACAC) reveals that only half of the four-year institutions surveyed do not
have current data on the predictive value of the ACT and SAT scores they use.
When it comes to testing requirements, many of these schools are on automatic
pilot and have no particular (or measured) reason for continuing to ask
applicants for scores.
“Some
admissions offices continue to require the ACT and SAT out of habit. Others
believe the tests convey ‘prestige’,” said Bob Schaeffer, public education
director for FairTest.
“As NACAC shows, many of these institutions lack current evidence that the
scores accurately forecast academic outcomes.”
David
Hawkins, NACAC’s executive director of educational content and policy, tells The Chronicle of
Higher Education, “If admissions offices are going
to require standardized tests, they would benefit both themselves and the
students who are applying by knowing more about what those test predict.”
Well
yes, especially considering that most colleges agree that high school grades
are “by far the most significant predictor” of achievement in college. And as
the NACAC report goes on to say, “Recent changes in the content of the SAT,
increased use of the SAT and ACT as high school assessment instruments, and the
changing demographics of students who take the tests could all affect the
predictive validity of test scores.”
So it’s
no surprise that a record 33 schools dropped admissions score requirements for
all or many applicants over the past year, bringing the total to more than 860
colleges and universities FairTest lists as having test-optional or
test-flexible policies. In fact the list
includes 210 institutions ranked in the top tiers of U.S. News Best Colleges
edition. And according to FairTest, nearly half of all nationally-ranked liberal
arts colleges
are test-optional or test-flexible.
In the
past year, Catholic, Drake, George
Washington, and
Willamette universities, as well as Hiram, Kalamazoo, Quinnipiac, Ripon,
Skidmore, and Trinity colleges have dropped standardized tests from their
admissions requirements. Several public
campuses such as the University of Delaware, the University of Massachusetts-Lowell
and East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania also recently adopted
test-optional admissions policies.
“A
rapidly growing number of higher education leaders recognize that applicants’
high school records are the fairest, most accurate predictors of college
academic performance,” explains Schaeffer. “Neither the SAT, old or new, nor
the ACT is needed to make high quality, equitable admissions decisions.”
And it
appears that some of the Ivies are slowly beginning to come to that same
conclusion.
Note: Barnard
College has followed Columbia’s lead and will no
longer require Subject Tests or the writing sections of either the SAT or
ACT.
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