. The College Board says that, across many colleges, SAT scores improve the correlation between admissions predictions and GPA realities by 10%. 10% can mean a lot to large colleges, like Berkley, that receives in excess of 40,000 applications per year. In addition, low scores on tests are rarely the only reason that a student would not be eligible for a particular school. In fact, a report by the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) states that only 2.5% of California public high school graduates were disallowed solely on the basis of inadequate test scores. Beginning in 1995, Lafayette College conducted a five-year experiment, making the SAT test optional. They discovered that the test, combined with other measures better correlated with their students’ performance than did other measures alone. Additionally, admissions personnel often found themselves lost among unranked classes and inflated grades. Thirdly, if you do away with the SAT altogether, then college officials will have to focus more on assessing the high schools. If you don’t have the SAT to consider, you have to evaluate what is left, which is a student’s GPA, and any college-prep courses they may have taken, along with other after school activities, among other things. The fear is that those factors can amplify the inequalities among high schools even more than the SAT. Duke University Admissions Director explains that, “The students in school districts with more resources will be more equipped,.” thereby amplifying inequalities. For instance, let’s look at Advanced Placement courses. These courses, offered by top-level high schools, can help teens earn credits for college but many high schools can’t afford the advanced books and qualified teachers that are needed for these classes. In addition, financially strapped schools may not have a lot of after school activities.Finally, the argument exists ...
