Why Aren’t More Colleges Test Optional?

Since the inception of the SAT in 1926, the admission world has debated (1976, 2001, 2008, 2015, 2018, 2019) the impact of and validity of the SAT (and later the ACT, CLT, CCTST, etc) on the pool of applicants and enrolled students at a university. Recently, more and more colleges have been asking themselves should they diminish the role of testing in their admission process and declare a test optional admissions policy.

This debate has heated up recently with the release of Measuring Success: Testing, Grades, and the Future of College Admissions and the announcement of the University of Chicago’s test optional policy causing many institutions to look inward at their use of test scores. However, the question of whether colleges and universities should stop using the SAT and ACT might just be the wrong question. It’s certainly the wrong question at a particular set of schools. While there are some schools where the additional predictive information (generally .02 to .1) from tests lends support to difficult admissions decisions, I think there are as many institutions that should be test optional but are holding on to the tests. In requiring these tests are these schools doing more harm than good to themselves? By holding on to these tests are these schools abdicating their duties to fairly evaluate all candidates and relinquishing that authority to the SAT and ACT?

This set of colleges, which I’ll describe later, should be looking more closely at what the value of the SAT and ACT (to their specific institution) and whether these tests provide any useful and valuable information given the current institutional priorities and applicant pools. Additionally, by shifting the burden of proof to the tests, the colleges reclaim their independent authority to control their admission standards and policies rather than ceding a substantial portion of that authority.

In short, why would schools let the SAT and ACT deprive their institutions of applicants and potential students without out requiring that these tests first provide substantial proof of their utility?

Test Scores

To make sure we’re all on the page, here is a slide from a recent presentation I did at University of Denver Diversity Summit. You can see from the slide the basic scoring information on the ACT (I’ll use the ACT rather than both the SAT and the ACT for simplicity’s sake but the general principles are identical for both tests). The average ACT composite score ranges from 1 to 36, however, if a test-taker were to guess randomly on all questions that test-taker would score about a 12. This suggests that the “true” range of scores is from 12 – 36. Furthermore, only 4 out of every 25 test-takers scored below a 15 on the ACT in the 2018 testing year.  The partial percentile chart below shows the percentile of test-takers who scored below each composite score in 2018, as you can see very few people scored below a 14 or below. Let’s keep this in mind as we delve a little deeper into which schools might want to reconsider their testing policies.

Test Optional in All But Name 

Given that an ACT score of 12 is essentially what a 3 year old would score on the ACT if she had the fortitude and hand-eye coordination to fill in all the bubbles on the Scantron, it’s not a radical statement to say that colleges enrolling students with scores within one standard deviation of a 12 are in effect test-optional. They are placing little to no value on the score achieved by admitted students. I offer that at these institutions the ACT and SAT are essentially test optional “by score.” If a school is test-optional “by score” and thus not using achievement on the test to make admissions decisions, then one might wonder why would such schools require the test (can they possibly be helpful for class placement?). It seems that many of these institutions are requiring the tests because that’s what other schools are doing or because it’s what they’ve always done. I’d love to see these schools take a closer look at how useful these tests are to predicting successful graduation or passing classes. If a school is not looking for a score that requires a demonstration of ability or even much effort then why bother requiring the test at all?

How big of a “problem” is this? How many institutions does this effect? Based on an analysis of the Common Data Set (a shared voluntary database of college admission and profile information) there are 204 schools where more than 20% of applicants enrolling were admitted with ACT scores of 12 – 17. These colleges represent almost 10% of the institutions that report their admission data to CDS. This is a substantial number of “test optional by score” schools that are making students pretend to take this $50+ test for what seems like little or no reason.  Given all the pressures and challenges, especially to low income students, one might think these institutions might want to reconsider these policies.

One might argue that some schools use the SAT and ACT for advising or placement, but to me that is an argument against requiring the tests in the admission process rather than for. First, the tests are not designed to be placement exams and thus assess a range of curriculum that is likely well beyond the scope of any single college level math or english class. Given that multiple placement tests exists (Accuplacer and ACT CollegeReady, for instance), it seems odd to use the wrong tool for the job. Second, requiring the test in the admission process but not using it for admissions muddles an already confusing process and creates an additional barrier for low income and underserved students. Finally, this puts, perhaps unfairly, the costs and logistics of taking the test on applicants rather than on the university (which would pay for a placement test given to enrolled students).

Here is the full list of schools reporting 20% or more of their admitted students having 12 – 17 score on the ACT.

Institution Name	ACT Composite 25th	ACT Composite 75th	ACT Composite % Between 12 and 17
Texas Woman’s University	17	17	100
Lane College	14	16	81
Shaw University	13	16	76.47
Rust College	14	21	75
Jarvis Christian College			70
Central State University	15	18	70
Univsersity of Arkansas at Pine Bluff	14	18	68
Talladega College	16	19	64
Penn State Schuylkill	16	19	64
Prairie View A&M University	15	19	60.03
Virginia State University	15	19	60
Mississippi Valley State University	15	19	60
Claflin University	15	19	59
Gallaudet University	15	20	59
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania	14	21	58
Bloomfield College	15	19	58
University of Maine-Fort Kent	15	19	57
Lincoln University (MO)	15	20	54.85
California State University-Dominguez Hills	15	19	54.37
Alabama A&M University	16	19	53.21
Albany State University	16	19	53
Huston-Tillotson University	14	19	53
Rosemont College	15	20	52
Lincoln University (PA)	16	21	51.92
California State University–San Bernardino	16	20	50.2
California State University-Los Angeles	15	20	50.1
College of St. Joseph in Vermont	17	23	50
University of Maine at Machias	15	25	50
Southern University and A&M College	15	18	49
Alcorn State University	16	20	48
Mount Olive College	15	20	48
Northeastern Illinois University	16	20	47.7
University of Virginia’s College at Wise	16	21	47
Woodbury University	16	21	45.4
University of Houston-Victoria	15	19	44
Georgian Court University	17	23	44
Thomas College	13	22	44
Penn State Mont Alto	17	24	42.86
Penn State Worthington Scranton	17	21	42.86
Five Towns College	16	24	42
Dominican College			42
Saint Peter’s University	16	21	41.94
Keystone College	17	22	41.2
Neumann University	17	19	41.18
Averett University	17	21	41
Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU)	17	21	41
California State University–East Bay	16	21	41
California University of Pennsylvania	16	22	41
William Peace University	16	21	40.9
California State University, Stanislaus	16	21	40.6
Warner Pacific College	16	22	40
Rhode Island College	16	21	40
University of Houston-Downtown	16	20	39.71
Jackson State University	17	20	39
Marymount College	16	22	39
Indiana State University	16	22	38.75
Point University	17	22	37.97
North Carolina A&T State University	17	21	37
Barton College			37
Tennessee State University	18	21	36
Francis Marion University	17	22	35.5
Reinhardt College	17	22	35
Methodist University	17	23	35
Mount Saint Mary’s University	17	22	35
College of Mount Saint Vincent	18	22	35
St. Thomas Aquinas College	17	22	34.9
St. Thomas University	16.25	20.75	34.1
Chestnut Hill College	17	21	34.09
La Roche College	17	23	34
American International College	16	23	34
American Jewish University	17	22	33
Lourdes College	17	22	33
Hilbert College	17	22	33
California State University, Fresno	16	22	33
Anna Maria College	18	21	33
Vermont Technical College			33
Tuskegee University	18	23	32.6
Husson University	17	23	32
Gardner-Webb University	18	23	32
The University of Montana-Western	17	22	32
Kentucky State University	17	22	32
Rivier College	17	21	31.8
University of Texas-El Paso	17	22	31.7
Coker College	17	22	31
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania	17	23	31
Nichols College	17	23	31
Angelo State University	18	23	31
Eastern Oregon University	18	24	31
Oak Hills Christian College	16	21	30
State University of New York – Cobleskill	17	22	30
Bethany College (WV)	17	23	30
Hope International University	18	21	30
New England College	17	24	30
Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus	17	22	30
Fairmont State University, including Pierpont Community & Technical College	17	22	29.2
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke	18	22	29.03
University of Rio Grande	17	22	29
West Virginia University Institute of Technology	17	23	29
Mayville State University	17	22	29
La Sierra University	17	22	29
Notre Dame de Namur University	17	21	29
Cascade College			29
Central Wyoming College	17	22	29
The University of Texas-Pan American	17	21	28.9
Clayton College & State University	17	21	28
Stevenson University	18	23	28
Columbus State University	17	22	28
Oakland City University	17	23	28
MacMurray College	17	23	28
Kean University	17	22	28
Western Oregon University	17	23	27.95
Cairn University	17	24.3	27.78
Clarion University of PA	17	22	27.57
Adams State College	17	22	27.55
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania	17	22	27.52
Radford University	17	22	27.5
Eastern Washington University	17	23	27.5
Lewis-Clark State College	17	22	27.08
Upper Iowa University	17	24	27
Southern Connecticut State University	17	22	27
Indiana University Southeast	17	23	26.9
Penn State Hazleton	17	25	26.67
Brevard College	17	22	26
Midway College	18	22	26
Missouri Valley College	19	27	26
Bryn Athyn College of the New Church	17.5	23	26
Toccoa Falls College	17	24	25.9
California State University-Sacramento	17	22	25.6
West Virginia State University	17	22	25.5
Northwood University, Texas Campus	17	22	25.43
Augusta University	17	21	25.4
Eastern New Mexico University	17	23	25.35
William Penn University			25
Pontifical College Josephinum	17	25	25
Clark Atlanta University	18	21	25
Indiana University-Purdue Univ. Fort Wayne	17	23	25
University of Baltimore	17	21	25
Dickinson State University	18	23	25
Wayland Baptist University	17.5	23	25
Cogswell College	20	24	25
Penn State Delaware County	18	26	25
Penn State Beaver	18	24	25
California State University, Monterey Bay	17	23	25
Southeastern University	18	23	24.65
Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania	18	23	24.5
Indiana University Northwest	18	23	24.4
Indiana University East	18	23	24.3
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania	18	23	24.3
Alverno College	18	22	24.02
Shawnee State University	18	24	24
Defiance College	18	23	24
Colorado State University-Pueblo	18	22	24
Keuka College	18	23	24
Curry College	18	21	24
University of the Incarnate Word	18	23	24
Sterling College	19	24	24
McMurry University	18	22	24
Regis College	19	23	24
The Culinary Institute of America	17	23	24
Sierra Nevada College	17	25	23.52
Shorter College	18	24	23.2
Sweet Briar College	18	27	23
Webber International University	17	23	23
Columbia College (SC)	18	24	23
Concordia University (OR)	18	24	23
Catawba College			22.87
Indiana University South Bend	18	23	22.4
University of Pikeville	18	23	22
Southern Wesleyan University	18	22	22
Johnson State College	20	28	22
Marian University	18	22	22
Weber State University	18	24	22
Moore College of Art and Design	17	22	22
Louisiana College	18	23	21.8
Tiffin University	17	22	21.74
Southern New Hampshire University	18	24	21.6
Tarleton State University	18	23	21.48
San Francisco State University	18	24	21.11
Colby-Sawyer College	18	22	21
Campbellsville University	18	23	21
Concord University	17	25	21
University of Dubuque	18	23	21
Keene State College	18	24	21
Hampton University	19	24	21
Central Washington University	18	23	21
Mount Mary University	18	23	21
Park University	17	23	21
New Mexico State University	18	24	20.8
University of California – Merced	18	23	20.8
Manchester University	18	30	20.13
Illinois College	18	25	20.1
Cedar Crest College	18.75	24	20
VanderCook College of Music	20	25	20
Purdue University-Calumet	17	23	20
Old Dominion University	18	25	20
Marymount University	18	24	20
Blue Mountain College	18	23	20
Saint Joseph’s College (IN)	25	18	20
Muskingum College	18	24	20
Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University			20
Southeastern Oklahoma State University	18	23	20
University of Bridgeport	18	21	20
Thiel College	18	23	20
Penn State Shenango	19	22	20