Today’s USA Today has a big College Admissions Testing throwdown in the Op-Ed section. The USA Today folks are for keeping the testing around until there’s a better way to measure the rigor of high school coursework from one school to the next (an ‘A’ in a tough course at a tough school is different than an ‘A’ in an easy course at a less intense school). Although I’m not in agreement with them, they do make some good points and I respect that they were man enough to admit that the SAT and the ACT are “notoriously poor predictors of success.”

Jesse Mermell, the executive director of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing (FairTest.org) writes the opposing Op-Ed, and argues beautifully for chucking standardized admissions testing. Mermell agrees with the NACAC’s findings:

NACAC is right. Test-optional admissions clearly works well. More than 775 accredited, bachelor degree granting institutions already do not use SAT or ACT scores to make decisions about all or many applicants (see the list at http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional). They have found that de-emphasizing test results yields better qualified and more diverse student bodies.

Test-optional colleges and universities look at a variety of factors, including the rigor of an applicant’s high school curriculum, the track record of students from the same school, leadership, community service and personal circumstances. Trained professionals perform a comprehensive review of each admissions portfolio. They weigh multiple sources of evidence, not just how well students fill in bubbles on a Saturday morning.

I won’t re-spew my stance on the subject as I think I’ve over-explained myself already.

Posted by Alexa Harrington