To Test or Not To Test (Part 1)

To Test or Not To Test (Part 1)

The Hechinger Report published an article last week stating that a “record number of colleges [have stopped] requiring the SAT and ACT.” As an education company, we were, of course, intrigued by the article and wanted to inform ourselves about the ramifications for our students, especially those who currently find themselves in the process of standardized testing and college applications. However, despite the sensationalistic title, the substance of the article does little to change what we know to be existing pattern in today’s educational environment: a continuous shift toward student choice.

In last week’s blog post we detailed how ACT is changing the structure of its test to court students and parents while remaining competitive in the college admissions process. The article for this post seems to suggest that there is a real concern for these companies as more colleges and universities move away from a standardized testing requirement. But within the article are a few inconsistencies that need to be addressed.

Let’s begin with the title. Yes, a record number of colleges and universities have stopped requiring the SAT and ACT. However, there are two details that are casually left out of the article, which provide a great deal of context for such a claim. The first is the number and types of colleges and universities that currently exist. The second is the actual nature of the change in the testing requirement across the various colleges and universities.

Data going back to the 1980s shows an almost consistent rise in the number of colleges and universities offering two and four-year degrees. The number of degree-granting institutions has grown from roughly 3,200 to 4,500 institutions, with four-year colleges driving the majority of the growth. Also left out of the article’s claim is that while the number of public and private (nonprofit) institutions have some growth the same during that time period, the number of private, for-profit, colleges has been astronomical. As the weight of a high school diploma diminished in the professional arena, large companies and corporations entered the education market with for-profit colleges that catered to professional and non-traditional students with one big advantage: automatic enrollment. The majority of these for-profit colleges require a high school diploma, but, as the title of the article suggests, do not require standardized test scores. This skews the actual numbers quite a bit.

What should have been the highlight of the article, though, is that competitive colleges like the University of Chicago are moving to optional reporting of standardized test scores. This shift shows how colleges and universities are attempting to address the criticisms of these tests and the role they play in the admissions process. Criticisms that are also discussed in The Hechinger Report article.

Perhaps the most enduring criticism of standardized testing has been questions regarding its validity. Both College Board and ACT publish research on the SAT and ACT as valid measures of student success and retention to bolster its presence in the admissions process. But some of the loudest critics question whether they fall short of measuring critical thinking and instead simply measure the ability to take the test. These critics also question whether the roughly 60 hours, on average, spent preparing for these exams would not be better spent on other educational activities that could benefit students in collegiate classroom. Research on these criticisms will be discussed in next week’s post. Lastly, social psychologists have also raised concerns regarding the effect of such testing on social anxiety and stress among students. However, studies from major health organizations point to a rise of mental health issues among our students, unattributable to just standardized testing.

Furthermore, critics are split on the use of these tests in the admissions process. Most critics tend to question the fairness using these exams, since most research points to a socioeconomic, racial, and gender disparities in student performance, and the weight they are given in the admissions process. The recent Supreme Court decision in defense of Harvard University’s admissions practices points to the reality of the admissions process, that testing is only one of the many factors taken into account. Beyond that, it also points to the fact that every institution has a slightly unique admissions process, which is why we at EdSults stress getting to know admissions officers and spending a significant amount of time crafting an application that is representative of all of the applicants’ strengths.

However, the one place where criticism of the use of these exams does seem to have the most validity is in determining scholarships. Many of the institutions and foundations that award scholarships and grants, including universities themselves, currently use standardized test scores in their determination. Most notably is the National Merit Scholarship, which uses the Preliminary SAT, a College Board product, to determine qualification. It should be noted, however, that need-based financial aid is still the main source of college financing for students. And while some scholarships use standardized test scores to determine those who qualify, much like college admissions, others are moving away from minimum GPA and test score requirements to an application process that takes various aspects of the students academic and personal history into account. Moreover, other funding opportunities like essay contests and community scholarships rarely require standardized test scores.

While the article has some flaws, it shows that the educational landscape continues to move away from the type of standardization many incorrectly assume to be the backbone of the college admissions process: a fixation purely on numbers. However, the move away from testing, despite its limitations, might bring about new challenges to students and institutions, which we will discuss next week.

The Hechinger Report covers “inequality and innovation in education with in-depth journalism that uses research, data and stories from classrooms and campuses to show the public how education can be improved and why it matters.”