SUBRAMANIAN: Rutgers should reinstate SAT/ACT requirements in admissions process
Column: Whadda I Know
It is not unusual to say that COVID-19 has substantially impacted the education system. From Zoom learning to mandatory masking, the verdict is out regarding these policies' impact on social and academic development.
While some of these policies have since been rolled back as the COVID-19 era has dissipated, one has stood the test of time and is still in place at most U.S. colleges and universities: test-optional applications.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it made sense for test-optional policies to be put in place. The pandemic often forced testing centers to close, and many of these closures were difficult to predict, further limiting their accessibility. As someone who took the ACT during the pandemic, it was difficult to worry about studying for the exams while not knowing whether testing centers were open and available.
These test-optional policies were further boosted after the death of George Floyd. The national narrative started to focus on systemic racism, with many progress-minded individuals voicing concerns that these standardized tests often hurt racial minorities in the college admissions process because their wealthy, white counterparts could afford fancy private tutors.
As of now, these test-optional policies are here to stay. According to Inside Higher Ed, 80 percent of colleges and universities have continued their test-optional policies, including Rutgers.
But the data is clear: Test-optional policies hurt students.
Before analyzing test-optional policies, a broader question needs to be answered: Why do people attend college?
The answer is simple: economics. College graduates are more likely to earn higher wages than their high school graduate counterparts, have greater access to jobs and are less likely to face unemployment. If the goal of college is to ensure that students can exit with a stronger likelihood of getting high-paying jobs, universities should be evaluated through this lens.
Students need to succeed in college to gain access to high-paying jobs. Many think that high school GPAs tend to be the best predictors of college success. After all, how can one test predict college performance when compared to four years of academics? But this logic fails to account for the recent trend in grade inflation.
Since 1990, average high school GPAs have been on the rise. At the same time, test scores have been falling, indicating an unusual shift. This is worrying, as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this trend and tends to affect minority students disproportionately.
What is the cause of this? The increased pressure to get accepted into a prestigious college has made teachers relax their standards when grading. After all, many teachers would not want to be known as the GPA killer that hurt their students' chances of getting into a good college.
At the same time, with grades rising, small differences in GPAs get magnified. This has led to a variety of lawsuits regarding GPAs and has created a dangerous feedback loop where teachers continue to inflate GPAs to appease students and parents — with the latter having become far more involved in their kids' lives and far more willing to be combative with teachers.
The consequence of this grade inflation is that students are not being set up for success. The short-term focus on students' self-esteem cements an entitlement in their minds that they deserve a certain grade while also destroying incentives for students to develop proper study habits.
In contrast, the numbers indicate that SAT and ACT scores are better predictors of college success when compared to GPA. According to a study from Opportunity Insights, there is a stronger correlation between test scores and college academic performance than that between high school GPAs and college GPAs, primarily due to rampant GPA inflation.
What is especially notable is that this result is present even when factoring in socioeconomic status. Given that disadvantaged schools are more likely to have a greater proportion of non-white students, it is fair to extrapolate that these results are consistent when factoring in race.
The SATs and ACTs are notable in that they can show a clear picture of a student's academic performance. When considering GPA, it introduces more variation in its calculation, since class contextualization is not uniform. By contrast, the SATs and ACTs are more uniform in their scoring system.
Regarding equity, test-optional policies often hurt diversity on campuses. With the inclusion of test-optional policies, admissions place extra emphasis on non-academic metrics. These include letters of recommendation, extracurricular activities and essays, all of which favor wealthy, white applicants. Additionally, many disadvantaged students opt not to submit their test scores even when they may have actually helped in the admissions process.
No one really likes taking the SATs and ACTs. They are stressful and not known for their promises of fun and delight. The prevailing negative view of these tests certainly helps the test-optional movement's push to devalue them.
At the same time, the inconvenient facts point in a different direction. The SATs and ACTs are proven to be better ways to increase diversity and put students in college, where they are more likely to be successful.
Luckily, a shift is starting in higher education where many colleges, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Dartmouth College, are bringing back these tests. Let us hope that Rutgers and other universities follow their lead.
But hey, whadda I know?
Kiran Subramanian is a senior in the School of Arts and Sciences majoring in economics and political science. His column, "Whadda I Know," runs on alternate Tuesdays.
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