Why the SAT is back — for some

Plus: Government shutdown watch, our desire for banter, and more. February 27, 2024 [View in browser]( Good morning! A couple of elite universities are reinstating testing requirements. Reporter Fabiola Cineas digs into what happens when schools ask for test results. —Caroline Houck, senior editor of news   [A sign reading undergraduate admissions.] Scott Eisen/Getty Images They’re bringing testing back America’s colleges and universities are embroiled in yet another debate about admissions. This time, they’re rethinking their positions on standardized testing. At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, several elite colleges made the submission of SAT and ACT scores optional for applicants. Testing had become a hassle, with limited testing locations and time for students to get prepared. The anti-testing movement had long contended that standardized tests reinforce racial and economic inequality and that reliance on them harms students from disadvantaged backgrounds. During the pandemic, those students faced additional roadblocks. Schools loosened restrictions to simplify the process for everyone. But last week, Yale University [announced]( that it was reversing course. Going forward, students must include test scores with their applications, and for the first time, the school is allowing applicants to report Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) exam scores in place of SAT or ACT scores. The move follows two others reinstating testing requirements of some kind: Dartmouth College earlier this month and MIT in 2022. So why are (a few elite) school leaders changing their minds? They’re pointing to new research that says that test scores are actually helpful for admissions decisions — and beneficial for marginalized students. Do standardized tests make school admissions more or less fair? The anti-testing movement has long held that [tests maintain inequality]( and are a [disservice to students]( from disadvantaged backgrounds. There are reasons for that: [Tests]( can be [discriminatory](. A [study]( from Opportunity Insights, a group of Harvard economists, found that “students from low-income families and other less advantaged backgrounds have lower standardized test scores and are less likely to take the test than students from higher income families” due to “differences in school quality, neighborhood exposure, and many other environmental conditions.” But that wasn’t their central finding. They and the other researchers fueling the recent admissions reversals have found that test-optional practices harm students from low-income backgrounds. That’s because when given the option to submit scores, these students decided not to submit them out of fear that their scores weren’t perfect. Instead, admissions counselors have found that strong scores from students of lower-income backgrounds are an indicator that they would excel academically in college. [A young adult holding a financial aid info packet.] Juan Diego Reyes/Bloomberg via Getty Images What does the research say about how universities use test scores? One thing college admissions officers consider when evaluating a potential student is: Will they succeed here? And researchers have tried to determine the connection between test scores and that college success. In one [study](, Dartmouth researchers found that test scores were a better indicator of college performance than grades, essays, or teacher recommendations. And importantly, researchers found that test scores help admissions officers better pick out high-achieving less-advantaged applicants. Under the test-optional policy, “many high-achieving less-advantaged applicants choose not to submit scores even when doing so would allow Admissions to identify them as students likely to succeed at Dartmouth and in turn benefit their application,” the researchers wrote. The Opportunity Insights researchers similarly examined the connection between test scores and student success at IvyPlus institutions (the eight Ivy League colleges plus Stanford, MIT, Duke, and the University of Chicago). They found that “Even among otherwise similar students with the same high school grades, [...] SAT and ACT scores have substantial predictive power for academic success in college.” These researchers also found that higher high school GPAs are not associated with higher college GPAs. Yale’s [research]( has identified the same thing. In its announcement, the school wrote, “test scores are the single greatest predictor of a student’s future Yale grades. This is true even after controlling for family income and other demographic variables, and it is true for subject-based exams such as AP and IB, in addition to the ACT and SAT.” In short, according to Opportunity Insights’ findings, it can be the case that tests reinforce inequality generally but also allow schools to identify individual kids who are academically prepared despite challenging circumstances. What happens next Yale and Dartmouth have emphasized that test scores are simply one part of their whole-person review processes. Using test scores in the years before the pandemic had not harmed Yale’s diversity efforts, the university said in its announcement, citing gains in the number of admitted first-generation college students and under-represented minority students. And it’s worth pointing out that some of the wealthiest applicants never stopped testing and submitting scores when possible. Adam Nguyen, who founded Ivy Link, a firm that helps students gain admission to selective colleges, never changed the advice he gave to clients. "I can tell you that a number of things on the application are ‘optional,’ but to get into the Ivy League and other elite colleges, an applicant has to go above and beyond the minimum requirements," he said. And for wealthy students, that can mean paying firms like his tens of thousands of dollars to help curate outstanding extracurricular resumes, design showcase projects, and bolster their grades. Comparatively, he said, "standardized tests are probably the avenue where kids" can excel with fewer resources. Meanwhile, the anti-testing movement has said the attention to the test-optional reversals is excessive. An [overwhelming majority]( of US colleges and universities remain test-optional. At least 1,825 four-year colleges in the US — or more than 80 percent of them — will not require SAT or ACT scores for fall 2025, according to FairTest, an organization that advocates against testing requirements. “Despite a media frenzy around a single Ivy League school reinstating testing requirements, ACT/SAT-optional and test-blind/score-free policies remain the new normal in undergraduate admissions,” said FairTest executive director Harry Feder. [—Fabiola Cineas, reporter](   [Listen]( What Ozempic can't fix Fat women make less money than thin women and get fewer raises and promotions. It’s going to take more than a wonder drug to fix fatphobia in America. [Listen now](   POLITICS - Biden’s Gaza test: Look to the results of the primary today in Michigan — a key swing state in 2024 that’s also home to large Arab-American communities — for potential signs of how the war in Gaza has affected Biden’s reelection chances. [[Vox](] - We’re on shutdown watch, again: The US Congress has just a few days to get its act together and pass a spending deal. [[The Hill](] Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images AMERICA - Why baby boomers keep working: It’s a tale of two workers — “half have it good and half have it bad.” [[Vox](] - “No box to check”: A good look at the proposal to create a Middle East and North Africa category in the census’s revamped race and ethnicity section. [[NYT](] - We’re all looking for a little banter: If you’re single, dating, or with someone — but especially on the apps. [[LA Times](]   Ad  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...](   Why leap years exist Vox's Brian Resnick explains, with the help of one simple animation. [Read more »](   Are you enjoying the Today, Explained newsletter? Forward it to a friend; they can [sign up for it right here](. And as always, we want to know what you think. We recently changed the format of this newsletter. Any questions, comments, or ideas? We're all ears. Specifically: If there is a topic you want us to explain or a story you’re curious to learn more about, let us know [by filling out this form]( or just replying to this email. Today's edition was produced and edited by Caroline Houck. We'll see you tomorrow!   Ad  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...](   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( [TikTok]( [WhatsApp]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Manage your [email preferences]( [unsubscribe](param=sentences). If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Notice]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Floor 12, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved.