To say the outbreak of the Coronavirus in 2020 altered the landscape of nearly every aspect of societal function would be an understatement. In a sea of the affected, education was a sector that had its operations drastically shifted from an in-person to a digital medium. One such change included the necessity of standardized testing scores in an applicant’s submission for many universities. Due to the limitations the pandemic placed, the status of SAT and ACT scores became optional in the admissions process.
The Ivy League schools were among many that made this switch. After the news of optional scores broke, application rates to these prestigious institutions skyrocketed as students grabbed at the opportunity for an easier admissions process. Along with this influx came a more diversified pool of applicants from a wide range of social and economic backgrounds.
However, this choice did not come without its pitfalls. After its creation in June 2020, acceptance plummeted to rates as low as 3 or 4 percent, with Harvard’s hovering at a measly 3.6%. Skeptics questioned whether or not Harvard’s claims of furthering diversity within their schools was an empty promise. Coupled with the more recent Supreme Court overturning of race-based affirmative action in June 2023, the worry became whether or not the nonmandatory status of exam results really made these campuses more accessible to minorities and the underprivileged.
For the next four years, this controversial test-optional policy remained as the pandemic persisted. However, as the world fought off the debilitating disease, it also managed to wrestle itself free from the restrictions that prevented the population from much physical interaction. This past February, Ivies Dartmouth and Yale announced a restoration of their testing requirement for those trying for undergraduate programs. Brown was quick to follow; SAT or ACT scores would now be required starting in 2025. Harvard had previously stated that their optional testing policy would be in place until the graduating class of 2030, but the declarations by its contemporaries provoked administrators to reevaluate. On April 11, 2024, the university’s officials declared that students applying to Harvard in 2025 were not given the choice in submitting their SAT or ACT results to the admissions office: aside from what the school considered “exceptional cases”, these exam results would be mandatory.
Harvard’s higher-ups released several official statements explaining this seemingly sudden decision, which was based on “a number of factors” according to Hopi Hoekstra, Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. “Standardized tests are a means for all students, regardless of their background and life experience, to provide information that is predictive of success in college and beyond,” Hoekstra said. (NY Times) She states that these exams are crucial for identifying academic excellence removed from socioeconomic status. To back this claim with evidence, Harvard presented a 2023 study conducted by Opportunity Insights, a nonprofit data-analyst organization located at the university. Their research concluded that testing scores were more accurate in forecasting a pupil’s potential in college when compared to a high school GPA, due to factors such as grade inflation and wealth disparagement between school districts. (NY Times) Addressing the concern of the expenses preparing for such exams could rack up, Hoekstra points out that digital sources such as Schoolhouse.world, along with no-cost tutoring and test prep were both options for the less fortunate. She anticipates that the mandatory testing policy will prevent applicants from withholding information which “could have potentially helped their application.”
On the other hand, detractors were quick to point out the faults of standardized assessments as a whole. One such organization that has been vocally opposed to such testing is FairTest. Their director of public education, Robert Schaeffer, is an outspoken proponent against the new policy. “Those scholars say that when you eliminate the role of wealth, test scores are not better than high school GPA,” he says. (NY Times) He also gives examples of functional systems and alternatives where these exams are not required or only necessary for students who have GPAs below a certain threshold; his counterargument to the practicality of standardized tests Harvard outlined in its assertions. “The vast majority of colleges will not require test scores,” he assures fellow critics and disappointed hopefuls. (NY Times)
It seems that no matter what actions these schools take going forward, there will always be those who will end up dissatisfied. Harvard promised both sides of the testing debate that it would regularly examine their policies in order to keep the application process as comprehensive and open as possible. William R. Fitzsimmons, Harvard’s dean of admissions and financial aid, says, “Admissions officers understand that not all students attend well-resourced schools, and those who come from modest economic backgrounds or first-generation college families may have had fewer opportunities to prepare for standardized tests.” (NY Times) The university reassures that it will maintain the weight other academic merits, extracurriculars, and overall performance hold in addition to exam scores while evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of an applicant.
