SAT test scores may not be as useful as some college admissions officers think in predicting an applicant’s potential success, according to a new report that is already making waves in academia.
The National Association for College Admission Counseling released a report in late September that urged colleges to place less emphasis on SAT scores when admitting students. As more schools go SAT-optional, the NACAC’s recently created Commission on the Use of Standardized Tests in Undergraduate Admission found there were some colleges for which the SAT might not be the best admissions standard.
“The commission certainly suggested that there are more colleges that could probably go test-optional. ... That is all part of the effort to invite colleges to take a closer look at why they are requiring the use of standardized tests,” David A. Hawkins, NACAC director of public policy, said.
While standardized tests offer a benchmark for colleges to assess students equally, the commission said the effectiveness of the SAT as in indicator of future success varies from school to school. For instance, SAT may give students who did not excel in high school an opportunity to prove their readiness for college. Alternatively, they might also reflect poorly on students who have solid grades but lack test-taking skills.
In late September, Harvard University announced it would consider going SAT optional. More close to home, Barnard Dean Dorothy Denburg said in a recent interview that the option is not entirely off the table.
For some students, the SAT seemed a useful way to standardize candidates applying from different schools across the country.
“Grades aren’t comparable to each other. ... They [standardized tests] test everyone on an equal level,” James Leung, CC ’12, said.
But Astrika Wilhelm, BC ’12, disagreed.
“They haven’t helped me in my college life—the application process, going through that, has made me more aware of the real world,” Wilhelm said.
For her part, Denburg said she hopes to look into the effectiveness of SATs along with Dean of Admissions Jennifer Fondiller in the coming couple of years. If Barnard were to downplay the importance of the SAT or eliminate the requirement completely, Denburg predicted that admissions would instead ask more short essay questions to “get a feel” for the candidates. An elimination of the test requirement would, she explained, require Barnard to invest further resources into the admissions office.
“The one thing you have to say for tests, whether you like them or not, is that they are a convenient shorthand for admissions committees,” Denburg said.
But the high bar for standardized test scores has made it increasingly difficult for low-income students to attend some of the country’s top institutions. Urban studies assistant professor Greg Smithsimon said there had been a significant decline in availability of top institutions to most American students. Students in lower income brackets might not be able to afford SAT preparation classes, for instance, or may be working at the expense of their grades during their high school years.
“Admissions at elite schools like Barnard and Columbia are more economically unbalanced in the last 20 years,” he said.
The NACAC Commission said the best way to deal with the issue of standardized test scores would be for colleges to establish “knowledge centers,” places where college administrators or admission officers could analyze their standardized test data. The commission said the strategy may compensate for the drawbacks of depending heavily on SATs.
“We don’t live in a utopia. Colleges do realize the ramifications of the test,” Wilhelm said. “But I think maybe this organization ... should try to offer solutions, something that could be more useful in admissions.”
