Colleges Embrace a Post-SAT Future, Driven by Pandemic Necessity

(Bloomberg) -- High-school juniors applying to Stanford University can stop studying for standardized tests. The school isn't requiring them. Columbia University said last month it won’t require scores from students who are now sophomores or juniors, joining Cornell University and Amherst College. And the 280,000-student University of California system has declared no testing  for all freshmen who may apply to its 10 campuses.

The Covid-inspired movement that freed high-schoolers from the all-encompassing dominance of the SAT is rippling through higher education and likely to persist beyond the pandemic. “Left on our own, I think we'll go the way of the University of California system and either be completely test-optional or as far as score-free for a long time to come,” said Jonathan Burdick, who oversees enrollment at Cornell, where three of the seven undergraduate colleges won't accept scores.

The pandemic reshaped admissions when it closed testing sites, prompting schools to use a wider variety of measures to decide who is admitted. The SAT and ACT, which assess math and verbal skills, have long been criticized as a barrier to diversity, because wealthier students can afford tutors and fancy consultants. Testing companies say they’re a neutral way to measure raw talent and reward hard work.

David Rion, director of college guidance at the Loomis Chaffee School, a boarding institution in Windsor, Connecticut, expects that many colleges will keep their optional policies for the near future. But going test-optional has benefits, he said.

“They saw such huge application increases, and in many cases, increases in first-generation and underrepresented cohorts, that I can’t see how they’d go back to mandatory testing,” Rion said.

At Amherst College, 60% of students who applied last year -- the first test-optional year -- and enrolled in this year's freshman class submitted scores. Amherst won’t require tests for a total of four years, including current high-school sophomores and juniors, said Matthew L. McGann, dean of admissions and financial aid.

“If we start seeing not only schools that are test-optional but test-free, as the University of California, are we going to see large numbers of students that in the past would have taken the test just not take them?” McGann said. “It’s a little different.’’

The toll is showing. The number of SAT test-takers declined by almost one third to 1.5 million for the class of 2021 compared with the previous year. Those taking the ACT decreased 22% to 1.3 million. 

Among those who didn't submit a score was Taryn Dalton, a senior at a public high school in Bethesda, Maryland.  She said her scores weren't sufficient to submit.

“If I wanted to raise the score, I could have put time and effort into doing it, but it just didn't feel like it was worth it to me,” said Dalton, 18.  “All of my peers, I think, feel that way. I'm sure that's why colleges are continuing to go test optional.”

None of the schools where she was planning to apply required the test. Instead, she was able to take more hours as a shift supervisor at an ice-cream shop.

Lisa Bleich, who runs a Westfield, New Jersey-based company that helps students with essays and on deciding where to apply, has been advising clients that if they're good test-takers, sending scores will enhance an application. “If you don’t test well, some of the pressure is off, as long as your grades, your rigor and everything else about your application is really strong,'' said Bleich, whose company, College Bound Mentor, doesn't offer test prep.

The College Board, which owns the SAT, announced this year it was jettisoning the essay portion of the test as well as separate subject tests.  The testing companies say that the scores help poorer students. “As we emerge from the pandemic, the SAT will remain one of the most accessible and affordable ways for students to distinguish themselves,'' said Priscilla Rodriguez, who oversees the SAT and PSAT at the College Board. 

ACT research showed that institutions that dropped tests in response to Covid are unlikely to return soon, the company said in a statement.  

“Abandoning the use of longstanding, trustworthy, and objective assessments like the ACT test introduces greater subjectivity and uncertainty into the admissions process,'' the firm said. Still, if only high-scoring students submit scores, schools' average SAT scores will rise.

The University of Chicago made testing optional in 2018. About 75% of applicants last year still submitted scores, said James Nondorf, dean of admissions and financial aid.

“If you're not a good tester, there are plenty of other ways to stand out in your application,” Nondorf said. Testing may also be a good way to assess how a student is performing academically. But not sending a score doesn't mean you can hide a poor record.

“There's not a lot that can overcome a bunch of Cs,” Nondorf said. 

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