When the world went remote at the start of the pandemic, many colleges decided to make the application process easier for students by letting go of standardized testing requirements. Now, some schools are bringing them back.
Four years ago, the trend of dropping the requirement was far-reaching. Schools including Williams College, CalTech, The University of California college system, all eight Ivy League schools (Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University), as well as 85% of the top liberal arts schools, decided that submitting test scores along with applications would be optional.
It was somewhat of an unprecedented move, which was called for by the unprecedented times. But standardized testing has also long been under criticism, with opponents calling it an unfair measure of students’ capabilities. More modern ideas, which turned away from the No Child Left Behind education reform of the early 2000s, meant views on the importance of standardized testing was starting to shift.
But while some may have hoped the change would become permanent, it seems that higher education isn’t ready to let standardized testing fall by the wayside completely.
Yale announced Thursday that it will reinstate the requirement. “The change will be required for all first-year applicants beginning in the fall of 2025,” the university wrote in a statement. “It will also allow prospective students to include Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exam scores in place of the ACT or SAT.”
Dartmouth recently made a similar announcement, noting that a study commissioned by university president Sian Beilock found that standardized tests were “the most reliable indicators for success in Dartmouth’s course of study,” when looked at along with students’ grades. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced its reversal of the change last year, making it among the first colleges to do so.
Now that several colleges have announced they will be bringing back the standardized testing requirement, it seems certain that more will follow suit. However, not every school has been quick to go back to the way things were.
Princeton has said its optional test policy will remain in place for at least the next two admission cycles. And Columbia University has gotten rid of the requirement for good.
“The holistic and contextual application review process . . . is rooted in the belief that students are dynamic, multifaceted individuals who cannot be defined by any single factor,” Columbia said in a statement. “Our review is purposeful and nuanced—respecting varied backgrounds, voices, and experiences—in order to best determine an applicant’s suitability for admission and ability to thrive in our curriculum and our community, and to advance access to our educational opportunities.”
