The Test-Optional College Admissions Movement Continues To Grow

The number of U.S. colleges electing to not require standardized admission tests continues to grow.

The number of bachelor-degree granting colleges and universities that will be using ACT/SAT-optional, test-blind, or score-free admission procedures for fall 2023 now exceeds 1,900 institutions according to the latest numbers from FairTest, the National Center for Fair & Open Testing. According to FairTest, that number represents 83% of four-year U.S. schools.

In addition to the fall 2023 tally, FairTest also reported that 1,783 institutions- equal to about 78% of four-year colleges and universities - have already extended their test-optional/test-blind policies at least through fall 2024.

Those decisions come ahead of the pending U.S. Supreme Court decision on race-conscious college admissions, involving two cases - Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. University of North Carolina.

“Admissions offices increasingly recognize that test requirements, given their negative disparate impact on Black and Latinx applicants, are ‘race-conscious’ factors, which can create unfair barriers to access higher education,” said FairTest Executive Director Harry Feder in the organization’s news release. “They also know that standardized exams are, at best, weak predictors of academic success and largely unrelated to college-ready skills and knowledge. If the Supreme Court bars affirmative action, we expect that very few schools will continue to require the ACT or SAT. And it is likely that many more graduate programs will eliminate requirements for exams such as the GRE, GMAT, LSAT and GMAT.”

The number of colleges using test-optional or test-free admissions has grown steadily - nearly doubling - over the past three years. First, the Covid-19 pandemic made testing difficult, and many schools opted to skip requiring them, at least temporarily. However, concerns about socioeconomic and racial disparities in student test performance have helped convert more and more of the temporary suspensions into permanent test avoidance as colleges decide they simply no longer need the tests to make their decisions.

Here, according to FairTest, is a timeline showing the anti-test momentum:

1,075 ACT/SAT-optional schools pre-pandemic (as of March 15, 2020)

1,700 schools did not require ACT/SAT scores for fall 2020

1,775 schools did not require ACT/SAT scores for fall 2021

1,825 schools did not require ACT/SAT scores for fall 2022

1,904 schools do not require ACT/SAT scores for fall 2023

Commenting on what these numbers may mean as colleges await the Supreme Court’s decision in the two admission cases, FairTest Public Education Director Bob Schaeffer added, “Test-optional policies are a proven, race-neutral way to enhance campus diversity while maintaining academic quality. Though not a full substitute for affirmative action, they are important tools in a robust set of holistic admissions strategies to improve access for under-represented applicants. Upcoming Supreme Court decision could be the death-knell for standardized admissions exams.”

Test Optional

Santa Clara University is extending its “test-optional” policy for first-year and transfer students until 2024. Scores on the SAT or ACT are not required for students applying to Santa Clara University for the 2024 term. As a test-optional university, students still have the option to submit any standardized test score results they’ve received. A student who chooses not to submit standardized test scores will be at no disadvantage in our admission or merit scholarship review processes.

For the 2022 application cycle:

Where does an applicant select having ACT/SAT scores reviewed or not?

On the Common Application Supplement Questions for SCU, the following question will be required of all first-year applicants: Do you want your test scores considered?

Are other test scores like SAT II Subject Tests, AP exam scores, IB exam scores, A-levels exam scores, etc. required in the admission review process?

Santa Clara does not require submission of these scores for admission application evaluation. If students would like to report scores, they have the option to share scores through their Common Application.

How do we evaluate applications?

At Santa Clara University, we review applications holistically, meaning that we will review your application individually, taking into account your academic credentials as well as your personal qualities. Important required pieces of your application include your transcript, course rigor, unweighted GPA, extracurricular activities, Common App essay, supplemental questions, and demonstrated interest. Test scores are treated as optional information, similar to a resume or an additional letter of recommendation.

What if I’m applying for Fall 2025 or later?

Santa Clara University is still reviewing the test-optional policy for future years.

Can an applicant who is deferred or waitlisted change their testing choice?

An applicant with a deferred or Wait List decision will have the opportunity to submit supplemental information, including test scores, an updated transcript, letter of interest, or additional letters of recommendations. It will not be required or expected to submit test scores.

What should I know as an international student?

You still have the test-optional choice. All international applicants are required to demonstrate a minimum level of English language. You can view our Undergraduate English Proficiency website to see the several ways to demonstrate English proficiency in the application for admission, which include proficiency exams like IELTS, TOEFL, Duolingo or standardized tests like SAT or ACT.

Does Santa Clara Superscore?

Yes. Students who choose to submit their test scores have the option to submit multiple scores. SCU is interested in your best achievement, so sending us multiple tests, if available, allows us to see subsections regardless of test date or test type (ACT/SAT).

How does this affect merit scholarships and institutional financial aid awards?

It doesn’t! All students are reviewed for merit scholarships, whether they applied with or without a test score. About the top 15% of our applicants receive merit scholarships on the basis of a holistic review process. A student who chooses not to submit standardized test scores will be at no disadvantage in our merit scholarship review processes. It’s up to you.

Students who choose to have their scores considered must take the exam by the appropriate application deadline:

 *We cannot ensure October ACT test results will reach our office in time for Early Action and Early Decision I review.

We accept the following options to complete the test scores requirement by the application deadline:

If you receive updated test results after submitting the Self-Reported Test Scores form, you can self-report these newer scores by filling out the form again.

If you are offered admission to Santa Clara University and choose to enroll, official test scores that match your self-reported scores will need to be received by your deposit deadline. In order for test scores to be considered official, they must be sent directly from College Board or ACT. Santa Clara University reserves the right to revoke admission if an applicant’s self-reported scores do not match their official score report.

For enrolling students who did not select to have test scores considered in the admission review process, SCU will ask for official scores after matriculation if scores are available. The scores will be used for exam of the test optional program.

The GRE Test Is Cut in Half: Two Hours and Done

The changes reflect a general decline in the use of standardized tests, partly because of concerns among university administrators that the tests fail to predict success and that they may deter applicants from underrepresented groups.

Some studies have found that the tests handicap low-income and minority students, partly because wealthy students can improve their scores by taking expensive test prep courses. What’s more, the GRE test itself is expensive — $220 in most locations.

Boston University’s School of Public Health said that after it removed its GRE requirement in 2019, the number of Black and Hispanic applicants had increased, with no decline in student performance.

A growing number of graduate programs have moved to make the GRE optional or to eliminate it altogether as part of their admission requirements.

Duke University, a prestigious private institution in North Carolina, announced last year that it would not require the GRE for most of its graduate programs, extending a test-optional policy that began during the pandemic.

Calling the phenomenon the GRExit, the academic journal Science conducted a survey of 50 top-ranked graduate programs in 2019 and found that 44 percent of molecular biology Ph.D. programs had stopped requiring the scores.

At the same time, some law schools now accept GRE scores in place of the standard Law School Admission Test, or LSAT.

Even so, the number of GRE tests taken declined to 341,574 in 2021 from 541,750 in 2017.

The decline mirrors similar declines in the use of the SAT and the ACT after hundreds of colleges moved to test-optional admissions for undergraduates.

The College Board, which controls the SAT, will also move to a shorter, online test, beginning in 2024 in the United States, following its introduction in other countries in 2023. The new SAT will take two hours rather than three and will feature shorter reading passages with one or two questions, requiring fewer responses.

In a decision to be announced by the end of its term, the Supreme Court is widely expected to eliminate or limit the consideration of race in college admissions, meaning that undergraduate and graduate programs will no longer be permitted to give preferential treatment to underserved minority students in an effort to increase the diversity of their classes.

The decision is likely to place additional pressure on universities to limit or eliminate the use of standardized admissions exams as they move to more holistic admissions policies.