Colleges Break Away From Tradition
E. Heidt
Standardized testing has always been a bittersweet part of the college admissions process. As a freshman entering high school, conversations about the SAT and ACT, preparation classes, and practice tests fill the school hallways, but are merely whispers in the wind. The whispers only get louder as sophomores move closer to the real deal and begin to take practice versions of the tests. Once junior year arrives, students are suddenly overwhelmed with College Board SAT and ACT sign-up email reminders and flyers for test preparation classes along with extracurricular activities and a build-up of classwork. But what if they were told that these standardized tests are becoming less of an integral part in the college admissions process?
It’s true—a growing number of schools in the United States are adopting a test-optional policy. According to a list maintained by the nonprofit National Center for Fair and Open Testing, there are more than 950 accredited colleges and universities in the U.S. that have de-emphasized the use of standardized testing in their admissions process.
The latest schools to join the list include Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts; University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Arkansas; Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina; Houghton College in western New York; and Worcester State University in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Houghton College integrated this change into their admissions process for students signing up in the fall of 2017. Ryan Spear, Houghton College’s Admission Director, shared over a phone call with The Page that one of the reasons why Houghton has adopted a test-optional policy is that they wish to become more accessible to a wide variety of students.
Houghton College offers a unique program in Buffalo, New York that is geared toward a diverse student population. “It’s a two-year college degree experience offered for students who very often are recent citizens and recent immigrants to the United States,” said Spear.
“By requiring the SAT and ACT, we are kind of putting a burden upon a certain population that didn’t grow up with the test.”
Another reason Houghton has put less importance on the role of standardized testing in the admissions process is that they would like students to focus on seeking opportunities and developing expertise in areas that will be beneficial in the long run. “We really want to encourage students to invest in their high school experiences and really learn skills that are going to help them be successful in college,” said Spear. “Doing well on a standardized test is not the same thing as doing well in college.”
“Instead of spending extra time studying for the SAT or ACT, maybe taking an AP class instead, or signing up for a college class, or getting more involved in their community... All these kind of skill sets in the long term are more important as a discipline,” said Spear. All of this being said Houghton does not discourage students from sending in their scores. “If they want to, it’s important for them to make that decision themselves, but we do hope it might relieve some of the pressure around college admissions and allow students a little bit more freedom,” he said.
Ithaca College in New York put their test-optional policy into action in the fall of 2013 and selected the policy for similar reasons as Houghton. Bri Alderman, Associate Director and Athletic Liaison at Ithaca College, over email, shared a quote stated by Gerard Turbide, Vice President of Enrollment Management: “We have always reviewed applicants holistically to assess each student’s potential for success at Ithaca College. From the coursework they choose, to the leadership positions they hold, and the many and varied talents that they bring, we want to develop a complete picture of every student. None of that is captured in a standardized test score.”
Furthermore, Houghton College recognizes that there is a socioeconomic bias surrounding the requirement of the ACT and SAT. “We recognize that different student populations perform differently on the SAT or ACT. Even across different socioeconomic as well as racial and ethnic demographics, certain students just have more resources than others,” said Spear. “It’s really not quite... fair to say, ‘Okay, those two students taking the same test need to be evaluated the same way given that they have different resources and background.’”
Emerson College also took this socioeconomic prejudice into consideration while making their ultimate decision to become test-optional, which will be fully implemented for the undergraduate applicants of Fall 2018.
“The policy tacitly acknowledges some significant shortcomings of standardized tests including discrepancies in access to test preparation and the relationship of test prep access to socioeconomic factors specific to each community,” said Eric Sykes, Dean of Admission and Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management at Emerson College, over email.
Emerson is primarily dedicated to liberal arts and communication, so its values of “participatory and experiential learning” reflect upon their admissions process and changes
made to it.
“We are accustomed to evaluating a wide range of student submissions from performance based auditions, to films and creative samples that are required for a wide range of our majors so expanding our criteria beyond the traditional test scores is not unfamiliar territory to our admissions office,” said Sykes.
In place of the test scores, Emerson College is requesting for students to make a submission that accurately depicts their skills and what they will be able to contribute to the community.
“Students who choose not to submit stan- dardized test scores will submit an alternative evaluative component such as a graded paper, portfolio, or contemplative essay that provides evidence of their potential and which may be related specifically to their chosen major in ways that standardized tests were never intended to be,” said Sykes.
As the list of test-optional colleges and universities grows, the more emphasis there will be on deviating from the traditional admissions process to create a newer system.
