[NFBWATlk] Washington's public universities will no longer require the SAT or ACT. Will admissions become more equitable? - Seattle Times - May 20, 2021

[Mary Ellen]

Fascinating discussion.  I did high school math without a textbook, relying
on a friend to read the equations to me.  Consequently, I didn't learn
Nemith code. I was thrilled to get my ACT test in Braille, only to discover
that I couldn't read the math.  (I was expecting it to be in an older
version of math code, silly me.)  As a result, I was tracked into remedial
math.  It meant an easy 5 hour A.  I later decided to take more math, and
did reasonably well until I hit calculus, which was beyond the regular math
requirement.  I was fortunate in that my other indicators were positive
enough for the admissions department to allow me on campus even though my
math scores were abysmal. If they had been rigid about evaluating me
primarily on my ACT scores, I might have had more difficulty getting
accepted.

I think high stakes tests can be useful indications of test taking ability,
and perhaps of general educational achievement.  Maybe the problem is that
they are high stakes, instead of one among many indicators.
 

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From: NFBWATlk <nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Nightingale, Noel
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Sent: May 20, 2021 12:31 PM
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Subject: [NFBWATlk] Washington's public universities will no longer require
the SAT or ACT. Will admissions become more equitable? - Seattle Times - May
20, 2021

Thought this article would be of interest to students on this list.

https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/washingtons-public-universities-w
ill-no-longer-require-the-sat-or-act-will-admissions-become-more-equitable/?
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Washington's public universities will no longer require the SAT or ACT. Will
admissions become more equitable?
By Hannah Furfaro
Seattle Times
May 20, 2021

For 18-year-old Enrique Mora, a strong SAT score was supposed to be among
the high-stakes barometers that would help determine how he'd spend life
after high school.
Mora, a Port Angeles High School senior, knew that to get into a good
college, he needed to take advanced courses and score well on a standardized
test. So he collected free test-prep materials and studied hard.
But last fall, when standardized testing sites were closed because of the
COVID-19 pandemic, Mora panicked. He hadn't yet taken the SAT, which is
usually required to get into the University of Washington, his top pick. He
started thinking about community college. And he remembered conversations
he'd had with military recruiters, who'd encouraged him to enlist.
Then, good news: He learned after applying to the UW that the university
would not require a standardized test score for admission for the incoming
freshman class of 2021.
On Tuesday, that policy became permanent at all of Washington's public
four-year institutions.
Beginning in fall 2021, UW, Washington State University, Central Washington
University, Eastern Washington University, The Evergreen State College and
Western Washington University will become permanently "test-optional."
Students can submit scores, but they won't be penalized during the
admissions process if they don't; admissions officers say a high score might
benefit a student who wouldn't otherwise be offered admission, but typically
scores won't be used. And scores won't determine students' ability to earn
scholarships or placement in university honors programs.
The policy change follows similar moves by public universities in Oregon,
California and many other public and private colleges nationwide, and comes
at the same time that UW announced that nearly 49,000 students applied for
admission next school year, the biggest applicant pool ever.
The pandemic made taking these tests practically impossible, but permanently
ending testing requirements signals a profound shift in how universities
think about who to admit, experts say.
"Washington is doing it now, which is terrific," said Jon Boeckenstedt, vice
provost for enrollment management at Oregon State University and the author
of a higher education blog that focuses on data and university policies.
"Essentially [along] the whole West Coast you don't need standardized tests
to apply to public universities."
For decades, high-stakes tests have been regarded as impartial indicators of
students' academic abilities. A high score could encourage them to apply to
a wider selection of colleges - or nix their shot at economic or social
mobility. But university admissions' officers and academics have
increasingly questioned the utility of these scores. Data suggests that a
student's GPA or entire academic record are better predictors than
standardized tests of how well they'll fare in college.
And standardized tests aren't the great equalizers they're purported to be,
several experts say. A stellar score might reflect a student's innate
academic talents - or, it might demonstrate the time and money they had to
inject into rigorous test prep. A low score might indicate testing anxiety.
Or for a student learning English, it might show that their language skills
are still emerging.
"We believe it would be better for our applicants to spend all that extra
time studying for their classes or doing coursework, or maybe take an
additional class rather than spend extra time studying for this test,"
which, in the scheme of a person's life, amounts to only a "few hours on a
particular day," said Paul Seegert, director of admissions at UW.
Fingers crossed
Mora, the eldest of five siblings, "bounced around a lot" in the years after
his parents moved the family from Idaho to Washington when he was about 13.
As a freshman in high school, he worked as a dishwasher and server. He
thought: "If I want to do something else other than this, I have to work for
it. So studying is a priority."
His parents, who both dropped out of high school but later earned GEDs, are
his biggest cheerleaders. When Mora weighed a future in the military, he
said, "My father talked me out of it, saying he could support me if I
decided to go to college."
Mora knew financing college would be difficult for his family; military
recruiters told him he'd rack up lots of debt. But he worked on checking all
the boxes he could, like getting good grades and applying for scholarships.
When application season began in the fall, Mora crossed his fingers and
applied to UW without submitting an SAT score. He hoped he could eventually
take the test.
"When I did see that the SAT was optional it was a relief," he said. And
thankfully, he said, he was accepted.
UW offered him direct admission to the university's College of Engineering,
and Mora was awarded tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships. College
is not only possible for Mora - it will be affordable.
The new test optional policies will be "huge" for students like Mora, said
Rosalynn Guillen, who works with Mora and other students as a
college-completion coach at the College Success Foundation, a nonprofit that
helps first generation, low-income students finish high school and college.
"Not having to worry about that [test] is a huge barrier lifted so they can
focus on their [college] recommendations, their community service, all the
other things that give more light into what kind of student they will be at
the institution they choose to go to," she said.
Making college more accessible
In the mid-2010s, the University of Puget Sound was the first Washington
university to go test-optional. An enrollment working group looked at the
university's admissions policies and decided that doing away with the
requirement would make the college more accessible, particularly for those
from low-income backgrounds and students of color.
Six years later, the university is seeing incremental progress: about 28% of
first-year students are students of color, up from 20.4% in the year before
the test-optional policy went in place.
Standardized tests can pose actual barriers to admission, said Matt Boyce,
vice president for enrollment at the university. But "sometimes it's just
perception," he said, suggesting that having a score requirement might
dissuade some students from applying altogether.
The university's applicant pool has become more diverse over time, he said.
But Boyce cautions against the idea that test-optional policies are a silver
bullet: The fact that students of more varied backgrounds are applying could
be chalked up to a collection of policy changes the university made around
the same time it made test scores optional, he said.
"Solely making a decision to make an institution test-optional is not going
to move the needle," he said. It "doesn't instantaneously make students who
have been traditionally marginalized and underserved and underrepresented
suddenly feel like they are able to gain access and become part of those
institutions."
It's difficult to predict how the test-optional policy changes affect who
applies to Washington's public colleges, and who is ultimately accepted and
enrolled. Studies on test-optional policies have shown mixed results. April
research involving nearly 100 private schools suggests that test-optional
policies did little to improve equity in admissions, in line with some prior
studies. But the largest study to date has found the opposite.
At UW, test scores were one piece of a "holistic review" that admissions
officers use. Admissions decisions were made using "the full academic
picture, not just strictly GPA and test scores," said David Sundine, UW's
associate director of admissions for operations, who oversees holistic
review at the university. The school also looks at whether students improve
over time, and if they've challenged themselves. Because of this, he said,
just removing test scores "hasn't changed our work a whole lot."
The change is backed up by the university's data: Over time, the SAT's value
has become weaker and weaker at predicting first-year students' performance.
"This was a change that was overdue, quite frankly," Sundine said.
Seegert, at UW, said he hopes that making test scores optional will
encourage students who might not have applied to consider doing so. But the
pandemic upended many aspects of young people's lives, including their
family responsibilities or ability to pay for college, which will make it
difficult to parse out those factors from the effect of test-optional
policies in future years.
Said Seegert: "That is going to be really difficult to try to determine."



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