On standardized admission exams

(Modified from my letter to the editor, Buffalo News, July 7, 2020)

A number of colleges and universities no longer require applicants to submit scores from SAT or ACT exams. This seems to be motivated by flaws in the exams, particularly cultural bias. However, not requiring applicants to supply such credentials can be harmful to institutions of higher learning.

Most colleges base admissions on high school grades, recommendations from teachers and counselors, and standardized exams. The first two are local; only the standardized exam lets an admissions office compare an applicant with the general population. Doing away with standardized exams will reward high schools that inappropriately encourage students with "dumbed-down" courses and inflated grades, and will penalize high schools with high standards that encourage students to real growth. A college or university that abandons use of the SAT and ACT tests risks abandoning the pursuit of excellence that depends on the recruitment of excellent students. The institution also risks setting up students to fail: lacking comparison of applicants with the general population, it risks admitting students whose inflated high school grades mask unpreparedness for college.

Rather than abandoning use of standardized tests, colleges should press the SAT and ACT sponsors to remove the biases that these tests contain.