Seniors spend months painstakingly putting together their college applications. They know that at most schools, their application will be reviewed by an admissions officer for 10 minutes, give or take, so they pour hours into every single word, trying to condense the last four plus years of their life into about 1,500 words.
What they do not consider is the question admissions officers ask when reviewing applications: “Can this candidate handle college-level coursework?”
This is where standardized tests come into play.
The SAT originally emerged in the early 1900s as a means of assessing high school seniors’ ability to complete college-level coursework. The ACT originated in the 1950s and offered an optional science testing section.
Both tests have undergone several revisions since they were first administered. It was during the 1980s that the tests firmly cemented themselves as a part of the admissions process. 60 years later, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many schools began to eliminate the standardized testing requirement.
It was impossible to properly proctor a standardized test over Zoom and these tests were already under fire in the court of public opinion. It was alleged these tests perpetuated racism as students, usually white and Asian and from a higher socioeconomic background, could afford test preparation and multiple retakes.
Another key part of this claim was that test scores did not actually show academic potential. A few admissions cycles later, that claim now appears far less certain.
“An academic study released last summer … showed little relationship between high school grade point average and success in college,” David Leonhardt wrote for The New York Times. “The researchers found a strong relationship between test scores and later success.”
This claim does make logical sense. An A at one high school may not be equal to an A at another. This can be true for a multitude of reasons ranging from differences in curriculum to a student’s personal circumstances.
While this doesn’t disprove that students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds can essentially pay for a higher score, people also forget that most colleges review applications in a holistic manner.
“It is 100% true that students who have the resources can pay for test prep, but that’s also something the colleges take into account,” Oak Park High School college counselor Amanda Fitts said. “They know if a student is coming from a higher socioeconomic background, so they may anticipate a higher score.”
This means the reverse is also true; if a student comes from a lower socioeconomic background and scores highly, this score carries more weight.
For the sake of argument, let’s say two candidates both have an SAT score of 1200, which is roughly the 80th percentile. One candidate comes from a wealthier background and could afford prep and retakes, while the other candidate could not. In this scenario, the SAT score would actually bolster the candidate coming from a lower socioeconomic background. This information becomes even more valuable because admissions readers are knowledgeable about the high schools students apply from.
Fitts spent a year reading applications for the University of Southern California from 2021-2022. During this time period she experienced an in-depth look at how an admissions committee delegates applications to specific readers.
“I was given a select few high schools to read applications from and it was my job to know these high schools,” Fitts said. “I was part-time so I didn’t have too many. A full-time admissions officer will often be assigned an entire region. For example reading applications from Northern California or all of California in some cases.”
OPHS sends out a school profile to all colleges and universities, which can be publicly accessed by all students on the OPHS site. It includes information about courses and programs available as well as information about the student body.
When representatives visit campus they meet with the College and Career center staff to ask questions and learn more about OPHS. Additionally all high schools in the country send out similar profiles to the universities their students apply to.
All this information and analysis is very nice, but what does this mean for you?
Standardized tests matter in the admissions process, and there is a reasonable chance scores actually mean something. However, your SAT/ACT score is just one part of your application.
That distinction is what often gets lost in the modern standardized testing debate. Tests were never intended to replace grades, essays, teacher recommendations or extracurriculars. They were designed to supplement them and give admissions officers another data point to work with.
The test-optional movement was born out of necessity during the pandemic, but it has also unintentionally created confusion for students.
“I advise all students to take at least one standardized test,” Fitts said. “Better to have it and not need it than the other way around. As many schools are test optional it may benefit students during the admissions process. Even if the schools are test optional for admissions, schools may still offer scholarship money based on the score.”
While, for the sake of readiness, most high school students should plan to take a standardized test at some point, it is also important to note that test scores are far from everything.
