SATs and ACTs May Go MIA

A recent New York Times article reported on a report from a college admissions panel charged with studying the reliance and impact of tests like the SAT and ACT on the college admissions process. The panel, chaired by Harvard's dean of admissions, William Fitzsimmons, recommended that colleges "move away from their reliance on SAT and ACT scores and shift toward admissions exams more closely tied to the high school curriculum and achievement."

The article noted that over the last few years many colleges have moved towards a "SAT/ACT optional" stance in their admissions process and pointed out many of the inherent flaws in the current SAT and ACT exams and their precursors, the PSAT and PLAN.

To me, the biggest flaw in these exams is that they are better predictors of a family's social economic status than they are of whether a student will be successful in college -- which is what they were originally designed to do.

A few days later the Times reported that Fitzsimmon's presentation regarding SATs and ACTs at this year's National Association for College Admissions Counseling conference (NACAC) was a huge draw for admissions officers and high school counselers alike. The article implied that the panel's recommendation were lauded by the group and reflected the reality of the admissions process, at least for those in attendance.

Yet, sadly, at the end of the presentation admissions officers in the room were asked whether their school's would follow these recommendations and become SAT/ACT optional or do away with exams altogether. Most responded that they would not.

Regardless of the future of these exams, schools like Park are afflicted with the same type of schizophrenia as we get caught between the "college preparatory" and "progressive" aspects of our mission. As a college preparatory school, we have an obligation to make sure that students are fairly represented in the process as compared to other students who attend college preparatory school, which includes having them do well on standardized exams. As a progressive school, we believe that standardized tests are dubious measures of student learning and achievement.

A few years ago Harvard changed the college admissions process by deciding to phase out early admissions, which caused other colleges to rexamine their early decision/early action policies. If they should decide to do the same with SAT and ACTs, they might once again shift the playing field for admissions.