Competition to the ACT & SAT?
Coronavirus Admissions Update: The Delay Game
May 11, 2020Major Cancellations to June ACT: What Happens Now?
May 29, 2020The University of California system voted to create and implement its own admissions exam over the next five years
.Here's How it Will Work
Freshmen entering 2021 and 2022, the UC system will be test-optional. Test-optional does not mean test blind. Students who submit SAT scores, no longer need to submit a writing score. They will still consider any submitted scores.<
In 2025, freshmen will use the new UC developed test. It would be available to out-of-state schools and private schools. Nonresident and international students would still be able to submit an ACT or SAT score. If no test is available in 2025, the system will go fully test blind.
My Take:
The UC system is well-positioned to address some of the inherent problems in admissions testing:v- It's easily the most powerful and egalitarian four-year university system in the US. It's well funded, talented, and diverse.
- It has no shortage of students and applicants, so UC has the opportunity to be bold.
- The UC system is currently race-blind in admissions. The consequence is an under-enrollment of black and Latino students and an over-enrollment of Asian and white students. The UC system has struggled with racial disparity for years, so racial and socioeconomic inequality will be at the heart of the initiative.
- The UC system sees the value of testing. After a lengthy review, the faculty of the UC system recommended keeping the testing requirement.
The Shakeout
I think this is a big deal, and I think the UC system will have a test in place in that time frame. They want one, and this is a perfect opportunity. Frankly, this could also be a very lucrative venture for the system.
I think that the introduction of a new test hurts the ACT and SAT long-term, but it may help them short term. The idea of a new exam from a credible player, and one of their own, may keep colleges who have gone test-optional temporarily from going test-optional permanently.
The largest four-year university system in the country wants testing enough to create their own.
The Ethics
Ultimately, I have a vested interest in testing. I also have a healthy level of disgust with how we do it.
That said, I don't buy the argument that test-free admissions will lead to more equal outcomes. I think the statistical evidence favoring test-optional admissions will disappear with widespread test-optional or blind admissions. I think these numbers are institutionally driven by colleges that are committed to underrepresented students.
I think that better high schools will game the system in other ways, as they already do, and widespread test-optional will amplify the effect. In that environment, admissions may become a referendum on the school and its personnel. All changes bring unintended consequences: widespread test-optional may well enhance the effect of money and activist parenting.
I don't believe there is a perfect test. Students who have better schools, better home lives, and more educated and affluent parents will perform better as a population.
