For high school students, the SAT and ACT have long been a door opener (or closer) into higher education in U.S. universities. But recently, some small liberal arts colleges have become test-optional, therefore raising questions about the usefulness of these tests.
"It's more important how a student did for four years in high school than for four hours on a test," said Steven T. Syverson, dean of admissions and financial aid at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., which admitted its first test-optional freshman this year.
Syverson said test preparation services create a socio-economic gap because they give a disadvantage to minorities, rural students and those who are simply unable to afford their costs.
"We're happy to look at the student test scores if he or she decides to send them," he said.
According to the universities that have gone test-optional, the decision to do so was based on the belief that the tests don't accurately predict performance and are no longer necessary.
However, the option to not take the SAT or ACT "is not a get out of jail free card," Syverson said, because students still have to complete all the other parts of the admission process to an increasing number of universities, parts that bear more weight than standardized tests.
Raul Fonts, senior assistant dean of admissions at Providence College in Rhode Island, which also went test-optional this year, said that they believe in evaluating students "not just by the numbers," and agreed that the high school transcript is the best tool to predict performance.
"It's not a level playing field when it comes to taking the SAT," Fonts said. He said many students who received high scores did so because they spent all summer preparing with programs like Kaplan — a tool that isn't available to students who can't afford it.
"The high school transcript and quality of the courses taken — along with the grades received — is the most important criteria, and it's always been," he said. "That's why we went (test) optional."
Fonts also explained that this is a four-year pilot program at the college, after which time they will compare academic performance and impact on retention from students who submitted the test scores versus the ones who didn't.
Meanwhile at Marquette, the SAT and ACT tests scores are considered a valuable tool in the admissions process.
"At Marquette they are important," said Carlos Garces, senior assistant dean of admissions. "They allow us, when used in conjunction with high school performance, to picture the student. The more information we get, the more accurate our prediction becomes of how the student will perform."
Garces also mentioned that the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, a group of private schools in the state, help students prepare for college. At its Web site — www.wisconsinmentor.org — the organization offers comprehensive free test preparation courses for the SAT and ACT.
"I don't think you should pay for something like that when you can get it for free," Garces said.
At Marquette, Garces said high school performance is given more weight in the consideration but the tests are still required. By using these two components with the lesser parts of the application, like the essay and extracurricular activities, the decision is made.
"We require an SAT or ACT," Garces said. "A freshman application would not be complete without this. It cannot be reviewed or considered."