With the announcement in June by Columbia University that it would once again require SAT or ACT scores as part of the undergraduate application process, the failed experiment of “test-optional” admissions at Ivy League schools and beyond has finally come to an end. Columbia was the last holdout among the “elite” institutions of higher education.
Over 1,000 STEM professors across the University of California system recently submitted a petition pleading for the reinstatement of SAT and ACT tests. Professors cited a lack of preparedness of incoming students and their inability to teach at a high level, due to an incoming student population that required remedial instruction.
The consequence of the failed college admissions social engineering experiment: Qualified, hardworking, accomplished students were denied admission while progressives took their shot at reimagining student bodies across the country. The disastrous results are in, and anyone involved in the anti-merit push for college admissions has disappeared. Thomas Sowell points out the obvious when he stated, “The engineer is judged by the end product: if he builds a building that collapses, he’s ruined. Conversely, if an intellectual who is brilliant has an idea for rearranging society and it ends in disaster, he pays no price at all.” Now, the proverbial building is collapsing, and no one is accountable.
Test-optional admissions started during COVID. The same people who told us 6 feet of distancing was necessary to “stop the spread,” washing your groceries could save your life, and 24/7 masking was an absolute necessity, professed the test-optional route as essential and continually pointed to COVID as an insurmountable obstacle to in-person standardized testing. Both of my sons applied to college during these years, and both had no problem attending in-person testing.
Once the tests were paused due to COVID, the activist class shouted from the rooftops that the tests were biased against minorities and another example of systemic racism. Sheepish university administrators complied, lest they be labeled racist and a “non-ally.” No one had the courage to mention that high standardized test scores were the key many minority and underprivileged students relied on to boost their applications and receive much-needed scholarships. Many SEC schools (all the rage as students flee higher ed institutions that focus on everything except education) have a clear rubric for receiving scholarships — high ACT/SAT score plus a high GPA. Achieving both results in life-changing scholarship opportunities for deserving students. Some of these scholarships cover nearly all tuition for four years.
Many of us knew at the time that this “test optional” experiment was just that — an experiment. Students who traditionally did not make the mark on the SAT or ACT were suddenly in the running — or even had an advantage — in gaining admission to their dream school. On the losing end were students who did make the grade, but their achievement as objectively measured by the standardized test was completely eliminated.
I had two sons who applied to college during the “test optional” years that lasted from 2020-26. The process was anything but fair and thorough, or objective. Test-optional applications were a dream come true for equity-focused, DEI-obsessed educators, admissions officers, and activists. This opened the door for a highly subjective application review and little to no objective measure of a student’s readiness for college. Recent reporting has revealed that due to initiatives like “equitable grading,” grades no longer reflect the true capability of a student.
If everyone gets an A, weighted GPAs are discounted, and there are no standardized test scores to evaluate an applicant, how does a university admissions officer know if a student is prepared for the rigors of college-level academics? There is no objective way to cut the stack of 10,000 applications down to a reasonable number for an in-depth, reasonable review of the applications that met a minimum criteria for consideration.
EVERYONE BOUGHT THE COLLEGE LIE. NOW WE’RE ALL PAYING FOR IT
There are always winners and losers in the college admissions process. There are a finite number of spots in any admissions class. The equity-obsessed power brokers did not care how many students with proven merit were denied admission. The reality is mediocre students were awarded coveted spots at universities, yet many of these students could not do the work once they matriculated. Students dropped out after harnessing themselves to thousands of dollars of student loan debt. Professors had to rework classes due to the number of unprepared students filling their seats. Now, even the professors are revolting.
Thousands of students paid dearly for this social engineering experiment. Why haven’t any administrators been held responsible? Why did none have the courage to come forward and put a stop to this demonization of an objective standardized test to properly evaluate and eliminate applicants? The marriage of COVID hysteria and DEI zealots did so much damage to so many. I hope a reckoning is coming.
Marissa Fallon is the senior director of advocacy for Defending Education.