Imagine sitting in front of a desk piled up with multiple college application forms, each explaining a different set of examinations required for each university. The mere thought of going through such a process is exhausting; however, this may be the future for most high school graduates in the next few years. With the University of California (UC) officially announcing the exclusion of Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and American College Testing (ACT) scores from their admission requirements, students may need to start spending even more time preparing their college applications.
This May, the UC announced that admissions would be “test-optional” for fall 2021 and 2022 applicants, which means students may choose to submit their SAT and ACT scores or not. In the following years of fall 2023 and 2024, the admission will be “test-blind,” indicating that the scores will no longer affect an applicant’s admission.
The decision is closely related to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic because disabled students and those who live in rural areas have very limited access to SAT and ACT centers. Brad Seligman, a judge from Alameda County Supreme Court, stated that the pandemic has “disrupted test-taking locations, forced schools to shut down and limited access to school counselors,” and thereby ruled it unfair for one’s social background or health status to affect their admission.
Furthermore, in an interview with the Washington Post, Stacy Torres, an assistant professor at UC San Francisco, supported UC’s decision because it could reduce inequality by preventing cases of wealthy students “paying for test coaching or securing special accommodations such as extra test time.”
Despite the criticisms of SAT and ACT, the exams should stay alive. One of the main reasons is that these tests provide a common standard for colleges to compare applicants when considering each student’s background and school. According to an editorial by the Los Angeles Times, “The scores of a student who has had fewer educational opportunities are generally measured against the scores of similar students around the state.” Additionally, without these standardized tests, students will have to put more effort into their extracurricular activities such as internships, camps, and laboratory experiences. These activities, which benefit students from a higher socioeconomic status, will only worsen the admission gap between students from different backgrounds.
Furthermore, international students, especially those who are not formerly enrolled in international high schools, will suffer from the unclear admission requirements in the United States (U.S.) if the SAT and ACT are banned. High schools outside of the U.S. typically do not offer Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate programs for students and do not consider extracurricular activities as a standard part of education. Thus, international students tend to rely on SAT and ACT heavily, and thus abolishing the tests will create more complications for these students in the admission process.
The intent behind the elimination of SAT and ACT scores is reasonable, especially considering the current pandemic. However, schools that start the test-blind admissions may take a risk given that the new admission requirements have yet to be clarified. Therefore, the new policy should be reconsidered since it may only narrow the gateway to university and the range of admitted applicants, rather than eliminating inequality.