There was a time when undertaking the SAT was a customary ritual. It was indisputably acknowledged that in order to secure a spot in a college you were to sit for the SAT. The Scholastic Aptitude Test was regarded as a massive equalizer.
At a specified moment, high school juniors and seniors were congregated in classrooms, auditoriums, or gymnasiums across the nation, all engaging in the same exam simultaneously. As future years unfolded, it was eventually perceived that while the exam scores might have been viewed as an unbiased guideline for college admission officers to decide, the filled-in test circles did not disclose to them which aspirants had the privilege of attending high-ranking suburban schools, and which of them had to put up with the turmoil of disordered inner-city schools.
The test didn’t also bear witness to those who were efficient exam takers, those who had exam anxieties, or those who had enduring learning impairments. A transformation was indeed required, but it would not be immediate.
The Evolution of the SAT?
Not many are aware of the SAT’s history linked to the military. During World War I, Robert Yerkes, an early advocate of the developed IQ test movement, convinced the army that it was essential to evaluate the intelligence of all recruits. Thus, the Alpha Army IQ test, the first mass-distributed IQ examination, was established. Carl Brigham, one of Yerkes’s assistants and a junior instructor at Princeton, would later amend the test to make it more challenging and repurpose it for a fresh utility – a college admissions procedure.
It was rebranded as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), and experimentally performed on a few thousand college candidates in 1926. The test would ultimately reach Harvard in 1933, where incoming president James Bryant Conant was seeking a college scholarship evaluation for gifted boys outside the customary elite boarding schools that predominantly furnished his institution.
He selected the SAT as it evaluated candidates’ raw intelligence, independent of their presumed abilities, even though this feature is primarily why the SAT is currently losing acceptance. However, in the interim, the exam became the possession of the New York-based College Board and embarked on its journey toward widespread adoption. Key milestones along this path included
- 1938: the College Board refines the test and employs it as a standardized scholarship examination.
- 1942: the College Board integrates a new set of questions and utilizes it as a college admissions test.
- 1948: the Educational Testing Service (ETS) is founded and embraces its primary mission to promote the SAT as the widely accepted basic college admissions procedure.
- 1960: the expanding University of California (UC) system prescribes it as a requisite, essentially granting it official endorsement for the ensuing decades.
The Origin of the ACT
In 1959, just a year prior to the University of California’s endorsement of the SAT, a rival emerged from the Midwest. University professor Everett Franklin Lindquist constructed a test based on the Iowa Test of Educational Development.
This new exam, initially referred to as the American College Test (ACT), was conceived to offer an alternative to the SAT by assessing learned classroom knowledge rather than focusing on cognitive reasoning skills that SAT emphasized. Lindquist envisioned the ACT as a tool for student placement.
Still, it wouldn’t be long before colleges and state universities in the Midwest and Central states adopted the ACT as their preferred admissions test, in lieu of the SAT, which they perceived as an instrument of the elite institutions on the East Coast.
SAT vs ACT
In reality, there aren’t many substantial differences between the ACT and the SAT. Both exams assess mathematics, writing, and reading competencies and offer an optional essay component. The time duration required for both tests is virtually identical, with the SAT allotting three hours and the ACT permitting two hours and 55 minutes.
Speaking of the essay part, both tests offer less than an hour – 50 minutes for the SAT, and 40 for the ACT. The main distinctions are that the ACT incorporates a section dedicated to science, which the SAT lacks. Also, the SAT essay evaluates students’ understanding of a source text, while the ACT essay measures their capability to comprehend and analyze multifaceted issues.
Myths and Realities
According to an article published in Education Week in December 2018, the ACT overtook the SAT in terms of student preference around 2012. In 2016, the latest year for which data was available, 2.09 million students took the ACT while 1.56 million opted for the SAT. One prevailing misconception could be that colleges favor the ACT. However, the reality is that all colleges requiring test score submission accept both ACT and SAT scores alike, and college admissions officers have openly admitted they lack a preference for one over the other, as per College Raptor, which counsels parents and students.
In essence, geography largely determines which test students are most likely to take—the New York-based SAT prevails along both the east and west coasts, while the ACT, offered by the Iowa City-based Iowa Testing Company, is favored in the heart of the country.
One factor contributing to this is that even though both tests aim to assess the likelihood of succeeding in college, the ACT is perceived as more closely aligned with high school curriculum. Hence, many school districts in the country’s central region mandate students to take the ACT as a standard test to demonstrate compliance with state criteria and Common Core standards.
A Rising Resistance to Testing
Despite their enduring presence as a tool for determining ‘college readiness’, or perhaps because of it, an increasing number of people are coming to understand that they are uncertain about what these tests are truly intended to assess.
- Aptitude?
- Academic achievement?
- The likelihood of performing well in the first year of college?
- General test-taking proficiency?
One aspect that nobody disputes is the last one. Both exams favor those who test well, presenting only a fragment of the student’s abilities. This is regarded as a misleading indication because the test scores do not accurately identify those whose low scores are actually excellent students and high achievers who may experience test anxiety, particularly during timed examinations.
As a result, many individuals who thrive in test scenarios frequently find themselves grappling with academic challenges, unprepared for the day-to-day rigors of college life. On the flip side, perfectly competent students might find that their performance on these tests limits their choice of colleges.
Both the ACT and SAT’s failure to present a complete representation of a test taker has long been a point of contention when using them as college readiness indicators. However, over the last decade or so, additional arguments are starting to emerge. Among the most prominent is the claim that both tests have devolved into ends unto themselves, sources of undue stress, anxiety, and financial burden.
The Stress
It’s a consensus – college-bound students, their parents, and high school guidance counselors all agree that these tests have become formidable entities hovering over students for a significant portion of their high school years. They infuse anxiety into schoolwork, sidetracking students from extracurricular activities and other parts of their life.
As for the high schools, because test scores are seen as indicators of teaching quality, instructors are pressured to devote precious class time to teaching to fit the demands of the test rather than focusing on academic learning.
Certain high schools, particularly in underprivileged areas where students can’t afford costly test preparatory classes, offer these resources for free. However, this situation requires students to make a tough choice between attending these classes or participating in enrichment activities and team sports – experiences that could bolster their college applications. But this is far from the only challenge that inner-city students face.
The Cost Involved and the Resulting Financial Inequality
An entire industry surrounding test preparation has emerged, capitalizing on the pressure even top-performing students feel. These preparation services often come with a hefty price tag. While middle and upper-income students are likely to utilize these resources more routinely, those from low-income families often find them unaffordable. This is not the only instance of economic disparity impacting less affluent students.
Both the Iowa Testing Company and the College Board impose a fee for their respective exams. Wealthier students have the option of retaking the test if they are unsatisfied with their results. Yet, for lower-income students, even taking the exam once might be a stretch, let alone considering a retake.
They Fail to Measure Instructional Inequality
Students from underserved areas often grapple with challenges unique to their circumstances, which are not typically faced by their middle and upper-income counterparts. They frequently find themselves in overcrowded schools. The environment in these schools can often be chaotic and in some cases, disruptive.
Such circumstances tend to diminish the quality of teaching they receive since educators are compelled to expend most of their efforts on maintaining discipline and order in the class. This leaves them with limited time or energy to provide the necessary support or challenges to students with college aspirations.
Beyond this, the local community school may not offer the specific types of courses required for college-bound students, compelling them to switch to a different school. This change often demands a significant commuting time, which could otherwise be utilized for studying or participating in after-school enrichment activities. These students may also have part-time jobs after school, which can leave them too worn out to fully commit to their academic endeavors.
Criticism from the Top
However, the most vehement critique may stem from the president of the College Board himself. The New York Times cites David Coleman as conceding that high school grades are a superior indicator of college performance. He not only acknowledged that numerous pupils are “saturated with futile stress”, but he expanded upon this by stating that merely 20% of high school educators perceive the exam results as a just representation of their student’s knowledge acquisition. More revealing is his affirmation that
“The College Board needs to emphatically declare that the culture and practice of expensive test prepping that has grown around entrance exams fosters the concept of disparity and inequity in our nation. It might not be the product of our actions, but it certainly is our concern.”
An Alternative Pathway Opens Up
Fortunately, colleges are taking these objections into account. An increasing number of institutions are modifying their admission strategies, allowing the decision of including SAT or ACT scores with their application to rest on the students’ shoulders.
Typically, test-optional institutions necessitate applicants to submit high school transcripts, teacher assessments, guidance counselor recommendations, and essays. However, individual institutions show variety in their additional readiness-proof preferences, for instance,
- Some may ask for test scores, but regard them as pointers for course placement rather than for admission determination.
- Certain establishments desire an essay to be incorporated with the application, utilized merely as an unadulterated writing sample to assess the degree of guidance offered by parents or counselors. Most demand a blend of AP exam grades, SAT subject tests, or, where relevant, an international baccalaureate.
The Pioneer of Test Optional
Bowdoin College was quite progressive, declaring itself test-optional as far back as 1969. Believing that eliminating the test requirement would promote applications from underrepresented communities who might otherwise not apply, this private institution has maintained this approach until now.
Present-day applicants are required to submit two essays, a school transcript, and a recommendation from a college counselor. As per a recent article in US News and World Report, their current student body is composed of 64% white students, 11% Hispanic, and 2% black. Out of these, between two-thirds to three-quarters chose to submit test scores while one-fourth to two-thirds opted not to.
Who’s Who on the Test Scores Optional Roster of Today
The very same World and News Report mentioned earlier documents the current number of test score optional institutions at 1,000. The past half-decade has witnessed a mounting list of public universities like Temple and Virginia Commonwealth, in addition to several campuses of broader systems like the University of Massachusetts and the State University of New York, embracing this shift. Numerous private institutions are also represented, as a glimpse at the list of colleges compiled by the National Center for Fair and Open Testing will reveal.
Ivy League institutions are not left out. Harvard, Yale, and Columbia have all made attempts to widen their admissions to students who lack the opportunities their typical applicants possess by virtue of their wealth:
- In 2014, Harvard provided an option for students to bypass two tests if it resulted in economic strain.
- In 2016, Columbia eliminated subject matter tests and essays from its requirements.
- In 2018, Yale removed the essay requirement.
Even though it’s not an Ivy League, the University of Chicago’s move caused quite a stir. Being ranked third after Harvard and Yale on the US News and World Report’s list of top universities, its decision in the spring of 2018 to join the list was seen as a significant victory for the Test Scores Optional camp, especially since the school is renowned for having one of the lowest acceptance rates in the country.
Awaiting California
While California is often leading the charge in terms of innovation, the University of California seems to be breaking the mold, exhibiting caution in deciding whether to adopt a test-optional stand. Numerous influencers in higher education believe that irrespective of their decision, their stance will have a significant impact on the fate of both the SAT and the ACT. After all, it was the UC system’s enormous influence in their 1960 decision that contributed most to their widespread acceptance initially.