Since I was responsible for the original offshoot of this bit, I went looking for an article I had read a few months back that informed my thinking on this topic. It was a Forbes article from February of this year specifically talking to the university system of California’s logic and reasoning behind waiving the requirement prior to the Covid-19 concerns.
If this is out of line to continue engaging here (apologies in advance) Forbes link:
The University of California system may drop its requirement that applicants submit standardized test scores., Other prominent schools such as the University of Chicago and the University of Rochester have gone test-optional in recent years.
www.forbes.com
Remember they chose to waive it anyway but this was the counter argument presented; pertinent passage [
bolding is my own for emphasis]
“
The University of California’s faculty review committee echoes this argument, arguing that the tests help system schools identify talented students from low-income or minority backgrounds. The committee’s report also contradicts existing research, claiming that SAT scores are a better predictor of student success than high school GPA.
For any given high school GPA, a student admitted with a low SAT score is between two and five times more likely to drop out after one year, and up to three times less likely to complete their degree compared to a student with a high score,” the report argues.
Dropping a standardized test requirement necessarily means that admissions committees must rely more heavily on high school grades. But if grades become the metric by which applicants are judged, high schools will have an incentive to hand out A’s like Halloween candy. Grade inflation of this sort could destroy high school GPA’s usefulness as an indicator of student aptitude.
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I didn’t continue the topic here because I didn’t want to stray too far off the point, and because when discussing it with other posters I realized this year will be a good sample to track and see if graduation rates dip. The data will show the results one way or another.
I do stand by my previous comment that I think this is generally a mistake for the overall student body (athletes included). The grade inflation scenario is a real issue, especially for athletes, and while I fully acknowledge the flaws of the standardized tests disproportionately skewing lower when looking at “disadvantaged youths” collectively, I think it fair to say if you struggle with the tests than you would struggle similarly with the academic rigor of GT. That is an objective statement devoid of political bias.
