Standardized Testing in College Admissions

Standardized testing is a key tool to compare academic achievement across schools, districts and states, allowing school administrators and state leaders to clearly understand whether students are meeting educational standards and where achievement gaps exist and must be addressed. Among the indicators offered by standardized testing is global competitiveness and advancement—the data reveal the knowledge of our nation’s students compared to those of other countries as a measure of workforce development and advancement. In addition, research has shown that the combination of high school grades and test scores provide the single best predictor of a student’s first-year college success, which is why standardized testing is widely used in college admissions decisions.

...the use of standardized testing in the UC admissions process?

Then President Napolitano commissioned the Standardized Testing Task Force. Questions examined by the task force included whether standardized testing fairly promotes diversity and opportunity for students applying to the UC system, and whether standardized testing is a predictor of student success. The UC Standardized Testing Task Force concluded that: standardized tests like the ACT help support rather than prevent admissions eligibility for students from traditionally underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, and students from low-income populations; and that a test-optional or test-blind policy should not be adopted. However, the UC Regents decided to change their testing policy despite the many findings from the Standardized Testing Task Force (STTF) and the recommendations of the UC Academic Senate, which voted to continue the test requirement by a margin of 51-0.

...testing requirements altogether?

While some universities were going test optional prior to COVID-19, the pandemic swung the pendulum towards test optional policies. It may never swing all the way back, but it’s clear from third-party research and ACT research that schools want students to have a choice in the matter.  
 
Proponents of test optional policies say that standardized tests should be abandoned because certain groups of students perform worse than others. They falsely claim that the test is biased because of this. ACT has known for years that there are performance differences on the test, based on a student’s race/ethnicity, income-level and whether students are the first in their family to go to college. However, the test does not cause these differences to occur. In fact, these differences can also be demonstrated across other (more subjective) admissions criteria, like HSGPA and admission essays. For instance, students who report household incomes of >80k are 2.4 times (140%) more likely to have a 3.75 HSGPA or higher as compared to students who reported an income of < 36k.  Similarly, students whose parents have a graduate degree are 242% more likely to have a 3.75 HSGPA, as compared to students whose parents did not complete high school. And lastly, in a recent Stanford study, researchers found that wealthy students tended to write better admission essays than those with less financial privilege. After reviewing 240,000 essays submitted by 60,000 applicants, they found a stronger correlation between household income and the quality of the essay than what can be observed in the relationship between income and standardized test scores. The differential performance we observe among student groups who take the ACT are also observed in almost every educational measure. This is why a holistic review, including multiple academic and non-academic measures, is so important. 

...from college admissions?

Yes. A sweeping decision to reduce or eliminate the role of standardized testing will create unintended consequences that need to be fully considered. For example, such a move could increase grade inflation. Grade inflation is already a problem, particularly in wealthy districts that provide college counselors and offer tailored learning resources, and where assertive parents are often willing to negotiate with teachers. Relying more heavily on grade point averages will put more pressure on schools to give students good grades, making admission decisions more subjective and less fair.

ACT is a research-based organization with over 60 years’ experience helping people achieve education and workplace success. The organization continually innovates to ensure fair and accurate measures of college and career readiness and to provide high-quality, scientific evidence in support of education and workforce practices, solutions, and services. ACT takes great care in ensuring that the ACT test is fair to all students, putting all questions through a thorough internal and external review process and systematically studying test results across demographics and geographies to guard against any questions that might be biased against a particular group of students. In addition, ACT’s Center for Equity in Learning—a division within the organization—is focused entirely on closing gaps in equity, opportunity, and achievement for underserved populations through the power of partnerships, research, accessibility and social impact. Learn more at: https://equityinlearning.act.org

ACT constantly researches, innovates and expands its free educational tools and test preparation resources to help students on their journey to higher education and beyond. The organization provides more test-prep resources to students than ever before, offering access to free online learning resources such as video lessons, interactive practice questions, full-length practice tests, education games and other test prep materials.

Additionally, ACT distributes more than $32 million worth of fee waivers each year and provides a year’s worth of free, high-quality test prep to qualifying students as part of the fee waiver program. Students who have documented disabilities have access to accommodations on the ACT test to ensure they have equal opportunity to show their academic readiness. ACT also offers test support to U.S. students who are English learners and whose proficiency in English may prevent them from fully demonstrating the skills and knowledge they’ve learned in school.

...indicating students’ level of college readiness, how else does the ACT help within the admissions process?

ACT scores are also widely used by colleges in course placement, student guidance and scholarships decisions—critical components to ensuring that students succeed on campus. Such use helps ensure that students enroll in courses in which they’re ready to succeed, are aware of majors and careers that match their interests and skills, are eligible for scholarships and are better positioned to graduate on time.