Long gone are the days of colleges requiring applicants to submit results from SAT subject tests. A new report has found fewer than a dozen U.S. colleges and universities now require all applicants to submit results from those tests, waving goodbye to a major component of past college admissions.
The National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest) found many colleges have already made the move away from SAT subject tests or “Achievement Tests,” which at one point were a crucial component in admissions for some of the nation’s top institutions.
The hour-long multiple choice exams cover a variety of different subjects, like chemistry, world history or Spanish.
Elite schools like Columbia, Duke, Haverford and Vassar all stopped asking students to submit scores for the exams over the past year, leading to a steady phase out of the once-necessary test for college admissions.
“Standardized tests are simply one component of our holistic admissions review, in which quantitative credentials are assessed within the broader context of an applicant’s interests, background, personal qualities and accomplishments,” said Columbia Undergraduate Admissions on the policy change. “We hope the increased flexibility with our application will ease some of the stress students may feel when going through the college admissions process.”
As a result of schools dropping the exam requirement, the number of students taking the exams has sharply declined, falling 23 percent over the last decade.
Meanwhile, registration for the ACT, which many schools accept in place of the SAT and SAT subject tests, has continued to climb, increasing by 23 percent over the last five years.
FairTest Public Education Director Bob Schaeffer said colleges are gradually coming to their senses about excessive testing in the college admissions process.
“Admissions offices have recognized the SAT Subject Tests contribute to a standardized exam overkill,” he said. “Requiring them excluded many otherwise qualified applicants.”
Some university professors called the Subject Tests “unnecessary barriers” to accessing higher education, with some schools noting the tests did not significantly help forecast students’ college performance.
High school grades, said Schaeffer, are the best indicator of how a student will fare in college.
“The SAT Subject Tests, like other entrance exams, are simply not needed,” said Schaeffer.
The decrease in the number of students taking the Subject Tests has walloped the test’s sponsor, College Board. Each test costs $26 to register plus an additional $20 for each exam taken as well as extra fees for score reports and other services. FairTest estimated the decline of test takers has reduced College Board’s revenues by more than $6 million a year.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
