For generations, countless American teenagers have faced the SAT, an anxiety-inducing long test they believe might determine their academic prospects.
The longest-enduring standardized college admissions test in the nation, the SAT has faced decades of controversy over bias and criticism for reducing aspiring college students to a test score. It has also been denounced as part of the high barrier to entry into the so-called American meritocracy.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous cases arose, leading to most prestigious universities in the nation suspended their standardized testing requirement, some were hopeful of a new era of more equitable college admissions.
However, this year, numerous institutions have reversed their stance on their test-optional policies. Concurrently, at least 1,825 U.S. colleges and universities have adopted or maintained this approach. more than 80% Of the four-year institutions, testing will still not be mandatory for the 2025 admission cycle, as stated by FairTest, the National Center for Fair & Open Testing.
The fragmentation of admission policies following the pandemic has reignited discussions about whether the SAT is still necessary.
Should we test, or should we not?
The SAT has faced criticism for decades. Originally called the "Scholastic Aptitude Test," the examination was created in the 1920s by Princeton-based eugenicist Carl Brigham. He thought immigration was reducing American intellect and modified U.S. Army psychological assessments to see if comparable tests could gauge inherent student aptitude. (Several years afterward, Brigham withdrew some of these opinions.)
The College Board, the nonprofit organization responsible for developing and overseeing the test, informed Pawonation.com that the SAT has undergone "significant changes" since the 1920s. It now assesses students' mastery of particular subject matter rather than their innate abilities.
However, the exam's heritage — rooted deeply in racial and socioeconomic biases — has sparked debates regarding the necessity of such critical assessments altogether. The National Education Association has pointed out that both the SAT and its equivalent, the ACT, often play an overly significant role in determining college admissions.
It's crucial that we avoid becoming too dependent on these assessments since they aren't comprehensive," said Daaiyah Bilal-Threats, NEA’s Director of Policy, to Pawonation.com. "These tests merely provide a single moment captured on one particular day and could decide your admission to college.
The majority of universities do not intend to restore their previous testing policies as they were before the pandemic.
"Due to the fact that test-optional policies generally lead to an increase in applications, as well as a higher number of academically strong candidates and greater diversity, these policies remain prevalent at national universities, public flagship institutions, and selective liberal arts colleges," stated Harry Feder, executive director of FairTest, following announcements from several Ivy League schools about reinstating their testing mandates in late winter.
There has been a significant focus on achieving high SAT scores, leading to the rapid expansion of a profitable test preparation sector within the U.S., projected to expand by approximately 7%, reaching nearly $50 billion by 2027. This forecast comes from a Technavio study released in October 2023.
Issues with standardized tests seem to reflect the inherent inequalities within the educational system. Experts argue that eliminating the SAT from admission criteria, as numerous colleges chose during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, doesn’t significantly address these deep-seated disparities. Instead, this change might make the gaps more apparent.
Affluent students might have the advantage when it comes to securing prestigious internships, attending schools with more generously funded extracurricular activities like clubs and athletics, along with robust music and arts programs—key components often featured in top-tier college applications.
“Students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds lack access to such enriching activities. They haven't participated in prestigious jazz bands, secured top-tier internships, or volunteered abroad in places like Guatemala. Nevertheless, many of them can still be highly competent learners," noted Daniel Koretz, an assessment specialist from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. The key issue he raises is how educational institutions identify these talented individuals.
Koretz suggests that the SAT has endured for so long because of its effectiveness in forecasting how well a student will do academically in college.
A study released in January by Harvard’s Opportunity Insights The center discovered that standardized tests are better indicators of performance compared to high school grades.
Importantly, the research also revealed that students from various socioeconomic statuses with comparable test scores exhibit "practically indistinguishable" college grade point averages.
A few weeks following the release of the study, numerous schools that had previously adopted a test-optional policy for close to four years decided to change course. In February, both Yale and Dartmouth declared they would reintroduce standardized testing requirements, which prompted other educational institutions—both private and public—to follow suit. These included Brown, Georgetown, Harvard, the University of Florida, and the University of Texas at Austin.
Dartmouth stated in a February announcement that SAT/ACT scores could be particularly useful for pinpointing students from underfunded environments who would thrive at Dartmouth but may go unnoticed in a testing-optional setting.
"Given the large number of high school GPAs close to 4.0… standardized test scores like the SAT or ACT serve as effective distinguishing factors, which benefit both students and universities," UT Austin stated in March.
There is still a requirement for standardized tests.
Experts consulted by Pawnation.com assert that the SAT is essential due to the lack of a uniform educational system across America.
Different schools might have varying grading standards. For instance, some institutions adjust their grade point averages differently. While an A+ in an Advanced Placement course counts as a 4.0 GPA in certain districts, it can equate to 5.0, 4.5, or 4.2 in others.
Even within the same educational institution and discipline, certain instructors may have different tendencies when grading; some might be more lenient compared to their counterparts.
Experts explained to Pawnation.com that college admission officers lack the capability to consider every minor difference, hence standardized tests are expected to persist until other aspects of the U.S. educational system become uniform.
Whenever you deal with a large education system such as ours, particularly without having uniform standards within the K-12 framework, schools will seek methods for comparing their students," explained Ethan Hutt, who teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Education. "This does not necessarily mean using the SAT; however, some form of standardized assessment would serve this purpose.
Democratizing education
The absence of standardized practices dates back to the formative years of American education. During the 19th century, monitoring student performance was minimal, and concepts like grading and written examinations were not widespread.
In the 19th century, schools...would assemble both parents and community members, and the teacher essentially organized a presentation featuring the entire class," explained Hutt. "The teachers would pose questions to the students and have them recite what they had learned.
Until 1845, oral exams were standard practice. However, that year, Horace Mann, who was both an education reformer and the Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, introduced a written exam to assess the quality of teaching in public schools throughout the Boston area.
College education was extremely uncommon because the system was crafted to benefit affluent white males who were directed from top-tier private institutions in the northeast to equally renowned private universities in the same region.
" frequently, it involved colleges recognizing specific high schools and stating, 'Graduates from (Phillips Exeter Academy) can be admitted to Harvard without further examination,' or alternatively, they would dispatch faculty members to conduct tests directly at those schools," explained Hutt.
Originally introduced in 1926, the SAT aimed to expand the range of students applying for universities.
Three key pieces of legislation inadvertently broadened the reach of the SAT. Initially, the 1944 Serviceman's Readjustment Act, widely recognized as the GI Bill, provided financial support for former servicemen to continue their education at higher levels. During this period from 1944 to 1951, over two million veterans registered themselves into colleges across the country.
Secondly, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 barred educational institutions receiving federal funds from rejecting applications based on "race, color, or national origin." Eight years later, Congress enacted another pivotal statute—Title IX—which banned gender discrimination within these institutions. The intent behind these statutes was to create a more equitable landscape for college admissions at least theoretically speaking.
From 1945 to 1995, the percentage of Americans over the age of 25 with a bachelor’s degree rose from approximately 5% to 23%, as reported by the Census Bureau. As accessing higher education became more feasible for many people, the SAT evolved into the crucial test that some individuals in America faced during their lifetime.
A standard in flux
The College Board regularly updates and revises both the scoring system and content of the SAT. For many years, the examination comprised two multiple-choice portions: mathematics and verbal reasoning. Both segments were scored out of 800 points each, with a maximum possible score of 1600.
In 2005, the College Board introduced an additional 800-point Writing section to accompany the Math and Verbal Reasoning portions of the exam. This change increased the total score from 1600 to 2400 points and extended the duration of the test by 45 minutes. Approximately nine years after this modification, the SAT shifted back to a 1600-point structure with the option for students to skip the essay portion. Finally, in 2021, they eliminated the optional essay segment altogether.
On March 9, the College Board conducted its inaugural fully digital SAT examination. This version of the test, lasting approximately two hours and completed via a dedicated app with more than 200,000 participants, is notably briefer compared to previous iterations. Additionally, this new format is adaptive; thus, the difficulty level of subsequent questions in both the reading and mathematics portions adjusts according to each student’s initial performance.
A significant part of the drive for this redesign stems from the competition posed by the ACT, an examination originating in Iowa back in 1959. This test has gradually gained preference across various regions of the country over time.
"When the ACT gained significantly more popularity, partly due to its brevity, the SAT aimed to preserve its market position. As a result, it implemented several modifications," explained Rachel Rubin, a higher education policy specialist and co-founder of the Massachusetts-based educational consultancy firm Spark Admissions.
Despite a minor decline in the number of participants, the SAT remains dominant. In 2023, approximately 1.9 million students took the SAT, down from 2.2 million before the pandemic. On the other hand, only around 1.4 million students sat for the ACT in 2023, as opposed to 1.7 million back in 2019.
Navigating through a legacy of prejudice
The SAT's analogy segment, an integral part of the test up until 2005, was frequently criticized for assuming that all examinees shared specific cultural experiences. A well-known instance from the '80s SAT featured "regatta," a term referring to boat races predominantly familiar to affluent residents of the northeastern U.S. regions.
For numerous years, the SAT…was created primarily by individuals who were predominantly white, mostly men, and mainly educated at northeastern colleges and universities," stated Jack Schneider, director of UMass Amherst’s Center for Education Policy. "Their assumptions regarding what every well-educated individual ought to know often carried biases against minority communities, economically disadvantaged areas, and regions where languages other than English dominated.
Schneider recognizes that removing bias from the SAT is extremely challenging due to our "biased societal environment."
The College Board informed Pawonation.com that it has eliminated its obscure vocabulary over the last ten years.
"Beginning in 2014, we decided to assess all the commonly measured aspects that are particularly valuable in college and which students are more prone to come across in their high school classes," explained College Board CEO David Coleman, emphasizing this approach pertains equally to mathematical content as well as vocabulary proficiency.
Recently, the College Board has introduced several cost-reducing measures aimed at promoting fairness for qualifying students. These include eliminating the $60 registration charge and providing college application fee waivers, potentially saving candidates up to $90 per institution. . Since 2015, it has collaborated with the educational non-profit organization Khan Academy to offer free test preparation resources.
Launched in 2014, the SAT School Day initiative enables students to sit for the exam during school hours on weekdays instead of taking it on weekends at possibly distant testing centers. According to the College Board, most students participate in this program, noting that it "has demonstrated an increase in college enrollment among low-income and rural students."
Coleman suggests that giving the test in a known setting may lessen the anxiety associated with taking the SAT. Additionally, he mentioned that the abbreviated digital version aims to cater to various kinds of examinees.
Coleman stated, "The previous version of the SAT seems tailored for students who are exceptionally fast thinkers rather than those who are genuinely intelligent, which is often a common mistake." He added that with the new digital test format, students get 160% additional time per question, ensuring they can complete the examination at their own pace without getting overwhelmed.
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