Test Optional is Misleading

Somewhere in the nineties the “everybody gets a trophy” mentality emerged, which mutated into “everyone gets an A”. And that mentality has insidiously permeated our judgement: now every student is equally athletic, equally smart, and equally good looking. Protection trumps resilience.  

The fear of disappointment has ostensibly permeated college admissions. Many colleges have designated themselves as “test optional”, meaning that applicants will not be required to submit SAT/ ACT scores. But if we peer behind that veiled, disingenuous claim, we realize that test optional has benefits mostly for colleges.  When colleges receive a lot of applications, they can reject more applicants, thereby lowering their acceptance rate. A low acceptance rate implies selectivity, which launches the college higher in the national rankings.  

If the top scoring students submit their scores, those scores are published, thereby emphasizing the college’s selectivity. Colleges want to be viewed as selective, which encourages more applications. And so the cycle continues.

Colleges need to diversify their student population. The most efficient avenue to diversification is test optional. Disadvantaged students and underrepresented students tend not to submit scores.  

With grade inflation rampant, there is no doubt many students who apply will have GPAs of 3.5 (4.0 scale) or above. But an A in one school is not necessarily tantamount to an A from another high school. In some schools, students are given credit just for completing for homework.  Some high schools do not give credit for homework. For students at those schools, their GPAs more often correlate to their scores on standardized tests. My students had their grade lowered incrementally for every three assignments not submitted; there was no credit given for homework. The tests indicated whether the student knew the material. But those were the days when candor wasn’t perceived as mean spirited. In many schools there are too many “padded” A’s and too few “real A’s”.

Certainly there are high achievers who don’t submit scores. But those students have taken a plethora of high level courses, including Advanced Placement (AP) courses. These students have committed themselves to volunteer activities, have demonstrated leadership, often leaving a legacy of innovation in their high school. As a college consultant, I advised a student who didn’t quite fall within the SAT/ACT range of Wake Forest. But her extracurricular activities and academic rigor of her courses were astounding. She also wrote a cogent essay. Ultimately she decided not to submit her standardized test scores. She was accepted.  

  Many families do not realize that colleges require SAT/ACT scores to qualify for merit aid.  And more often than not, any financial need award will be augmented if there is further evidence of academic achievement, such as respectable standardized test scores.  

Honors colleges within large universities require the submission of standardized test scores.  Homeschooled students need to submit standardized test scores.  The NCAA requires Division I and Division II athletes to submit scores. The standardized test is another tool with which a college can evaluate students. 

With the onset of Covid 19, there is no doubt that families who can pay the entire bill for college will have an advantage. Colleges are not immune to economic vagaries. But for the majority of students, full pay is not an option. For those students, they will have to show evidence of their academic prowess. 

Testing is here to stay. Nursing students must pass the NCLEX.  Aspiring lawyers take the LSATs, MCATs for future doctors and GREs for graduate school. Think about tests as validation, validation for the years of dedicated studying.