Weekly Briefing: This University Tried Test-Optional Admissions. Then It Reversed Course.

While many colleges have stopped requiring ACTs and SATs, the University of Tennessee system cut the Covid-era accommodation. ADVERTISEMENT [Weekly Briefing Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. Why did this university stop it’s test-optional pilot program? One year after the University of Tennessee at Knoxville announced that prospective students could choose whether they submitted standardized-test scores, the University of Tennessee system has announced that it will not continue the pilot program. The test-optional move was already gaining traction across higher education, and during the Covid-19 pandemic many colleges made the accommodation. At the Tennessee flagship, in Knoxville, administrators said in a [May 2021 statement]( that the test-optional pilot would continue for up to five more years. The university said it would evaluate data after each year and acknowledged a possibility that the program could be “refined or suspended.” The program began in July 2020, but now applying students will have to submit their SAT or ACT scores in the fall of 2023, even though university data suggests that going test-optional benefited the institution. A university spokesperson did not respond when asked why the program was discontinued. In a statement, Randy Boyd, president of the Tennessee system, said that university officials had spoken with the Board of Trustees about the program. “Based on our review and the thoughtful conversations at our recent board meetings, the campuses do not intend to bring forward any proposed revisions to the university’s admissions policies,” Boyd’s statement said. What does the data show? In February, the Tennessee system’s four undergraduate campuses presented the Board of Trustees with information about the program. Three of the four campuses reported that, based on their analyses, students’ high-school grade-point averages were a better predictor of retention and graduation than were their ACT scores. At the Knoxville campus, administrators saw an increase in applicants after ACT scores became optional, including applications from students of color. Despite the change in policies, administrators reported that most applicants to campuses throughout the system in 2021 and 2022 still submitted test scores, even though they weren’t required to. Tennessee’s reversal doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The University System of Georgia suspended its standardized-test requirement from 2020 to 2021, and then brought the requirement back for the spring semester of 2022. In Florida, public colleges have maintained the requirement throughout the pandemic. Meanwhile, some colleges across the country keep allowing applicants to choose whether they want to submit their SAT or ACT scores. Some research shows that there’s an advantage to test-optional admissions policies — like increasing the number of applicants, especially those from marginalized backgrounds. Last September, [our Eric Hoover reported]( that about three-quarters of four-year colleges had stopped requiring students to submit ACT and SAT scores. Even after the change, for many students, it’s still difficult to give up the will to test and get the highest possible score. And that’s a complicated desire to grapple with. Some admissions advocates say that abrupt changes like those in Tennessee and Georgia don’t give the institution enough time to evaluate the outcomes and potential benefits of test-optional admissions. [Read more in our Chelsea Long’s story about Tennessee’s policy reversal.]( ADVERTISEMENT Lagniappe. - Learn. I love stories about languages and how people communicate with each other. Deaf-blind people are creating [a new language with touch](. (The New Yorker) - Read. 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