By: Sophia Tsien
(Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire became the first Ivy League school to reinstate standardized testing requirements. (Robert Gill))
During the coronavirus pandemic, many schools dropped their standardized testing requirements and haven’t brought them back since. However, a slew of elite universities — from MIT and Dartmouth to now Yale and Brown — have revived their testing policies. Why?
In early February, Dartmouth College announced applicants for the 2024-2025 cycle will be required to submit SAT or ACT scores. Standardized tests have long been controversial, with critics claiming they favor rich, white applicants and hurt diversity. But growing evidence, according to Dartmouth, shows that test scores are more accurate predictors of how well students will perform in college than recommendations, GPA, and essays. A study conducted by three Dartmouth economists and a sociologist also found that test-optional policies, contrary to popular opinion, hurt low-income students rather than empower them.
The study discovered that many low-income students opted not to send test scores that would have helped them gain acceptance. The researchers — Elizabeth Cascio, Bruce Sacerdote, Doug Staiger, and Michele Tine — stated, “There are hundreds of less-advantaged applicants with scores in the 1400 range who should be submitting scores to identify themselves to admissions, but do not under test-optional policies.” Lee Coffin, Dartmouth’s dean of admissions, explained that these students would’ve likely been accepted if they had submitted their scores; disadvantaged students with lower test scores have a higher chance of acceptance than privileged students with identical scores.
According to Sian Beilock, a Dartmouth cognitive scientist studying standardized tests, “[Dartmouth is] looking for the kids who are excelling in their environment. We know society is unequal… Kids that are excelling in their environment, we think, are a good bet to excel at Dartmouth and out in the world.” Admissions officers consider applicants’ circumstances when determining acceptance by comparing test scores with the score distributions at their high schools. An SAT score of 1400 from a student at an underprivileged school is not weighed equally to a 1400 from a student at a top school. In certain environments, even a score far below 1400 can benefit an applicant. Coffin also reasoned that Dartmouth’s 2020 test-optional policies didn’t lead to more diverse applicants.
Since Dartmouth’s study, Yale and Brown have also abandoned their test-optional policies, asserting that research supports standardized testing’s ability to “highlight an applicant’s areas of academic strength.” Yale maintains that it “will never rely on testing alone to assess student preparedness,” but ultimately, test-optional policies hurt students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Brown similarly emphasized its commitment to diversity, noting that “test scores are interpreted in the context of a student’s background and educational opportunities.” MIT reinstated testing requirements in 2022; conversely, Columbia University has dropped these requirements indefinitely.
Overall, Dartmouth’s conclusion to revive standardized testing has prompted other colleges to reevaluate the role of tests in admissions. In the upcoming months, more and more selective schools are expected to make their own decisions.
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