So, maybe there’s no need for high school students to get stressed out about their SAT and ACT tests after all.
According to The National Center for Fair and Open Testing, more colleges and universities are steering away from requiring applicants to submit SAT/ACT scores. Nearly 40 percent of all accredited, bachelor-degree granting schools in the county (843 in all) have test-optional policies. For a list click here.
Four new institutions are announcing they will drop the testing requirement: Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania; St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont; SaintAnselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire; and Southern New Hampshire University with campuses in Manchester, New Hampshire, and Portsmouth and Bruswick, Maine.
Among the reasons administrators cite for the change in policy: the link of scores to income. Students from higher income families often do better, in part because of their preparation, resources available to enroll in test prep classes, and ability to take the SAT multiple times. Others say the scores are not good indicators of college success. Colleges making the score submission optional say they will focus instead on applicant’s classroom performance. The hope is to find qualified students who may be at a disadvantage in the traditional application process.
Perhaps there is hope for low-income students (as we discussed here) who, despite having potential, struggle with access and could use a break in the admission process.