Today, about 2,000 schools no longer require standardized test scores in their application process. This is a recent change that especially developed during the COVID-19 pandemic when high school students couldn't take in-person tests and not all students had access to computers or the internet.

However, some of the top schools in the country have recently reintroduced the requirement of standardized test scores. Earlier this month, the University of Texas at Austin announced that they would be requiring test scores again. According to the New York Times, UT Austin president Jay Hartzell said of the decision, “We looked at our students and found that, in many ways, they weren't faring as well.” The school also noted that standardized test scores are a good predictor of first-semester GPAs, and those who didn't submit test scores were more likely to have under a 2.0 GPA. 

Other top schools including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brown University, Dartmouth College, Yale University, Georgetown University, and Purdue University, have also reintroduced the requirement of standardized test scores in their application process. 

Yale, in particular, has introduced a “test-flexible” policy for the 2024-2025 academic year. This policy allows students to submit options aside from the SAT and ACT. Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate scores will also be allowed in Yale's application process. 

The debate over standardized testing has many experts divided. Columbia University, one of the top universities in the world, recently announced that the school would permanently be going test-optional. In their decision, the school stated, “Based on an internal study encompassing multiple years of performance data, we found that test-optional admissions…did not lead to a diminishment of the academic performance of our admitted classes or the academic success of our enrolled students. Thus, as we design our application and its requirements to afford the greatest possible opportunity and flexibility for students to represent themselves fully and showcase their academic talents, interests and goals, standardized testing remains an optional component of our application.”

Brown President Christina Paxson said in a statement, “Standardized test scores are a much better predictor of academic success than high school grades, which are exceptional for the vast majority of Brown applicants but also carry the complication of being increasingly subject to grade inflation.”

Dean of MIT admissions Stuart Schmill, shared a similar sentiment: “Standardized tests also help us identify academically prepared, socioeconomically disadvantaged students who could not otherwise demonstrate readiness.”

Some top schools are finding it challenging to sort out the best of the best. However, other schools, like Columbia, don't seem to be having the same issues. Even the governing body of the NCAA announced that they would no longer be requiring SAT or ACT scores last year for student-athletes. 

It will be interesting to see where this debate takes colleges in the future. Will more of the elite U.S. colleges join in reintroducing standardized tests? Or will more schools follow Columbia and cement their test-optional policy? 

* Originally published on March 20, 2024, by Bella Nevin