As admission to elite universities is becoming increasingly impossible, no measure of success and academic aptitude is more widely challenged than the SAT Reasoning Test — but usually to no avail.
But admissions officers and college counselors from across the country responded to this ceaseless debate in a more tangible way at the annual conference of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) in Seattle, Wa., last month.
Although the conference focused on various topics regarding admissions, many had their ears tuned to a lecture by William R. Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions at Harvard, who presented the findings of a new study on the use of standardized tests in admissions.
The study, which was carried out by a commission of college admissions officials, raised questions as to whether standardized tests are actually beneficial in the admissions process and addressed the possibility of no longer considering them. Although the commission did not recommend phasing out these tests, it strongly suggested that colleges reexamine their importance.
In its report, the commission cited several problems with the SAT, one of the most notable of which dealt with the socioeconomic statuses of students taking the test. The study argued that students who are unable to afford SAT classes and do not fully understand that they can waive the test-taking fee are at a stark disadvantage.
But Tufts' Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Lee Coffin said, that despite its flaws, most college admissions officials have no intention of eliminating the SAT from the decision-making process.
"Most of the deans on the commission, [including deans from] Harvard, Georgetown, Case Western Reserve, [the University] of Connecticut [and the University] of Washington reported that their institutions continue to see value in its use," Coffin said in an e-mail to the Daily. "The commission criticized the misuse of standardized testing in admissions decisions — especially score cutoffs — and recommended that standardized testing should be one of many factors in a holistic admissions process."
Coffin added that this "holistic" process is the method that Tufts already employs.
"That is exactly how Tufts uses testing in our admissions process: as one factor among many," Coffin said. "Tufts has no plans to make the SAT an optional element of our admissions requirements."
Coffin said that SAT scores must be looked at in context.
"There is clear and well-documented evidence that scores vary by demographic and socioeconomic status," he said. "The range of scores represented in our freshman class — from roughly 500 to 800 per section — reflects our ability to examine scores relative to a high school transcript and the academic and economic opportunities present in a particular high school, community or family. It is a case-by-case assessment."
Junior Tim Roberts feels that the SAT causes complications for less-privileged college applicants.
"For [students from] very low-income households, taking a test prep [class] and taking multiple tests could be a financial burden," Roberts said. "You really can't write that off as being insignificant."
Sophomore Jennifer Yih said that although financial problems can be detrimental to students who do not feel they can afford to take the SAT multiple times, she doesn't think that prep classes provide a significant advantage.
"I don't think the classes do very much, [even if] you pay like a thousand dollars," Yih said. "My friends would take the classes [and I didn't] and I would get the same scores, more or less."
In addition to socioeconomic issues, other problems arise with the SAT being used as a measure of whether or not a student should be admitted to a college. Many feel, for example, that the SAT is more a test of strategy than of actual knowledge.
"Tests like that … don't really test you for what you know or how smart you are; they really do test you for how good of a test taker you are," Roberts said. "It's sort of an endurance test."
Junior Reeve Dunne agreed, and added that he doesn't believe that doing poorly on the SAT means that a student cannot succeed in college.
"A test like the SAT isn't really similar to tests that you actually take in college," Dunne said. "[The test] is somewhat arbitrary."
Coffin also said he wishes that the strategic side did not play such a large role in the test, noting that if he could change one thing about the SAT, he would reduce the prevalence of test prep.
"Since [reducing test prep] is probably unrealistic, I would ask applicants to indicate whether they have used a test prep service so that we might evaluate their scores accordingly," he said.
According to Yih, the most important aspect of the SAT's use in admissions is that it is only one of many deciding factors.
"I think [it] should [be used in admissions], because it definitely supplements your application, but I don't think it should have such a great emphasis," she said. "It should definitely be your GPA more, and what you did in high school — not just a test."
Coffin also feels that a student's entire application must be taken into account, but that the SAT is ultimately helpful.
"The bottom line is an important one: ‘Does this information help us determine whether or not a student can succeed in the Tufts curriculum?' I believe the SAT helps us make that determination," Coffin said.
