A Resurgence for the SAT and ACT? – College Admissions Consultants with Admissions Committee Experience!

Don’t look now, but the ACT and SAT tests could be on a bit of a comeback from the brink of irrelevance. This New York Times editorial seems to be sparking renewed discussion about bringing back the standardized test requirement yet again.

Among the more interesting facets of the editorial linked above is the acknowledgment of the standardized tests’ predictive value for college success. In fact, the standardized test has become increasingly valued in light of the increasing grade inflation. Furthermore, the editorial reported that many college administrators are aware of the predictive value of the test scores and only hesitate to reinstate the standardized testing requirement because it is not “politically correct.”

We have seen the oscillation of standardized test views many times, so we won’t pretend that this potential newest trend will automatically gain permanence. Nonetheless, it should encourage many applicants to strongly consider taking the ACT or SAT to determine if it will give them an admissions edge. We encourage many applicants to pursue a standardized test and often assign them a percentile based on their particular profile. For instance, we may tell Applicant A to include the test score if it is above the 25th percentile for the target school while Applicant B may only be encouraged to include the standardized test score if it is above the 50th percentile for the target school.