Dive Brief:
- Whether the SAT and ACT can predict a student's college success will be studied by a University of California System faculty group at the urging of the system's president, according to the Los Angeles Times. UC student and faculty groups have criticized the system's testing policy in the past.
- The system will undertake the review at a time when more than 1,000 U.S. colleges and universities have stopped requiring the standardized tests. One study earlier this year found that campuses saw increases in black and Latino applicants upon dropping the testing requirement.
- UC President Janet Napolitano requested the study because the system is seeing increased demand and has expanded admissions eligibility. Eloy Ortiz Oakley, chancellor of the California Community Colleges, opposes use of the tests, saying they measure wealth better than college readiness.
Dive Insight:
The University of Chicago announced earlier this year that it would make standardized testing optional as part of an effort to attract more first-generation and rural students. Other initiatives include letting students submit a short video in lieu of in-person admissions interviews and self-submit transcripts to avoid paying fees for their high school to send them to the college. Students will also be able to submit "non-standard" materials to illustrate their strengths and abilities.
Test-optional admissions policies can increase the number and diversity of applicants and the freshman class, according to a report released earlier this year for the National Association for College Admission Counseling based on a survey of nearly 1 million students from 28 colleges. For example, 35% of black or African-American students did not submit, compared to 18% of whites.
Private institutions saw a bigger increase (29%) in applications after removing testing requirements than did publics (11%), the report notes. Although students who did not submit test scores were admitted at lower rates that those who did, they enrolled at significantly higher rates and graduated at equivalent or slightly higher rates as submitters.
