Advocates claim standardized tests harm minority students.
Last week, Columbia University became the first Ivy League school to permanently scrap its standardized test requirement, allowing hopeful applicants to skip the dreaded SAT and ACT.
The move makes the prestigious New York City school the latest in a string of elite institutions to move away from the tests as the argument that standardized testing harms minority students picks up steam. Previously, a low SAT or ACT score meant automatic elimination at many top-tier schools.
In a March 1 release, Columbia University wrote that “students are dynamic, multi-faceted individuals who cannot be defined by any single factor.” The admissions process respects the “varied backgrounds, voices and experiences” of students in order to determine whether a student will thrive at the school, Columbia said. Students may still submit test scores, but those who do not will not be at a disadvantage.
During the pandemic, many universities — including Harvard and Princeton — jumped at the chance to indefinitely suspend their standardized test admission requirements while in-person testing was on hold. Now, some like Columbia don’t want to go back.
This fall, more than 80% of undergraduate colleges will not require ACT or SAT scores from students, according to one estimate.
The SAT and ACT are also not the only standardized tests schools are ditching over “equity” concerns. Dozens of law schools have scrapped their LSAT test requirement. Advocates are even pushing for medical schools to stop requiring the MCAT, alarming critics who worry that schools could end up graduating less qualified doctors, putting patients at risk.
The argument that standardized tests are inherently racist has given rise to eyebrow-raising explanations for why minority students on the whole do worse on these tests. Black students perform poorly on standardized tests because they fear incorrect answers will confirm negative stereotypes about their race — they perform badly because they’re afraid of performing badly, essentially — a 2011 Stanford University study found.
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