Colleges should be test blind, not test-optional
By: Shirley Zhu
Should standardized test scores be one of the defining factors of one’s academic career? College admissions should be a holistic process, so the answer is a resounding no. Schools should not require standardized tests or go test-optional; they should go test-blind. Standardized testing gives people with certain privileges an advantage. Due to racial, wealth, and mental health inequities in standardized testing, colleges should go test blind.
Standardized tests are rooted in prejudiced ideas. Carl Brigham, the founder of the SAT, designed the test after he worked on the Army Alpha test, which was an Army IQ screener. He believed that white people were innately more intelligent than people of color. To prove his point, he created the SAT. Ibram X Kendi, who works at the Antiracist Research & Policy Center at BU and wrote the book How to be Antiracist, stated that the purpose of standardized tests has always been to degrade people of color and exclude them from prestigious schools. For many years after the SAT’s inception, questions that predominantly white people answered correctly were deemed “good” questions, while those that were answered correctly by more people of color were considered “bad.” The questions that were considered “good” would be kept for future exams, but the “bad” questions were removed. Thus, the SAT was originally designed to help support white students academically. It is unfair for minority applicants to be evaluated by colleges with a test that historically has sought to bring them down.
Furthermore, standardized test scores are too reflective of a student’s socioeconomic class. Wealthier students can afford well-planned preparation materials and professional tutors who can help them score higher on standardized tests. Although there exist free study materials available on websites such as Khan Academy, these resources are not as thorough and do not prepare students as well as a personalized study plan. The College Board controls what Khan Academy can put on its website and, thus, what is included in study guides as well. There are students who may be talented and smart but not wealthy enough to pay for outside resources. Luke Pfeiffer, a student of a higher socioeconomic class, was able to pay more than a hundred dollars an hour on outside resources and saw a high increase in their test scores as a result. Pfeiffer stated that his tutoring sessions increased his SAT score by 240 points. With private and expensive tutors, students are more likely to score higher on the SAT. Meanwhile, students from lower-income families are not given a fighting chance.
Many students also experience test anxiety, causing their scores to drop lower than their ability level, which the SAT does not properly account for. Researchers for the National Bureau of Economic Research conducted a test in 2018 to analyze the rise of cortisol levels, which are a chemical marker for stress. They discovered that, on average, cortisol levels rise by about 15 percent during the testing process. This rise in cortisol is linked to an 80-point drop in SAT scores. Meanwhile, for students who were already experiencing hardships like poverty or family instability, their cortisol levels spiked by as much as 35 percent, putting them at a major disadvantage. So, students who stress more and have experienced hardships like poverty or family instability are not able to perform to their full potential. Colleges get scores that are not indicative of a student’s true ability, which could hurt their evaluation of the student in the admissions process.
Although standardized tests are based on school curriculums, there are many factors that contribute to their unfairness. These factors include SAT being rooted in a racist background, standardized tests reflecting the wealth gap, and students experiencing hardship having higher test anxiety. They all prove why colleges should be test blind, not test-optional.
