Pomona to go permanently test-optional

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good move on Pomona's part. Will not have any bearing whatsoever on the quality of students they accept.

Disagree. I think it will. Kids there used to have to be exceptionally smart and test very well. Many used to go to med school. I wonder if that will still be the case if the kids can’t even do well enough on the SAT to submit how will they get a good score on the MCAT etc.
But maybe the school’s priorities have changed so it could be intentional. Maybe they values other things over being as academic as possible now.

I’m sure the MCAT is the next to go. Can’t have any objective measurements of qualifications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Live in LA and have kids at private school. Last year maybe 20% of kids did SAT/ACT. This year the school stopped having the kids to PSAT their Jr year. It is just going away out here.

20% of kids in CA took SAT in 2022. It was almost 70% a few years ago.

If anything, you’re directionally highlighting how the pandemic reduced the number of administrations. Not sure where you sourced those figures, but it doesn’t really matter anyway.

Top students in California will continue to take the ACT and/or the SAT, and the students who don’t test well will continue to hope and pray that the test blind and test optional pathways into good schools continue to exist.

The idea of applying to a non-UC T25 school without an ACT or SAT score, knowing there are at least 10x the number of applicants with perfect, rigorous grades than there are applicants with perfect test scores AND that some of the competing applicants are going to be bringing a 36 or a 1600 to the party - I mean, all other things equal, good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Live in LA and have kids at private school. Last year maybe 20% of kids did SAT/ACT. This year the school stopped having the kids to PSAT their Jr year. It is just going away out here.

20% of kids in CA took SAT in 2022. It was almost 70% a few years ago.

If anything, you’re directionally highlighting how the pandemic reduced the number of administrations. Not sure where you sourced those figures, but it doesn’t really matter anyway.

Top students in California will continue to take the ACT and/or the SAT, and the students who don’t test well will continue to hope and pray that the test blind and test optional pathways into good schools continue to exist.

The idea of applying to a non-UC T25 school without an ACT or SAT score, knowing there are at least 10x the number of applicants with perfect, rigorous grades than there are applicants with perfect test scores AND that some of the competing applicants are going to be bringing a 36 or a 1600 to the party - I mean, all other things equal, good luck.

You are missing the big picture…CA has 7 UC schools ranked higher than nearly every other flagship across the country…they have Cal State options that provide strong options.

I bet if UVA, VT, WM, UMD, PITT, Penn State…and then list 15 other schools that folks discuss on this board…if they were all test blind, you would see way fewer DMV kids take tests as well. That is what CA offers its residents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Live in LA and have kids at private school. Last year maybe 20% of kids did SAT/ACT. This year the school stopped having the kids to PSAT their Jr year. It is just going away out here.

20% of kids in CA took SAT in 2022. It was almost 70% a few years ago.

If anything, you’re directionally highlighting how the pandemic reduced the number of administrations. Not sure where you sourced those figures, but it doesn’t really matter anyway.

Top students in California will continue to take the ACT and/or the SAT, and the students who don’t test well will continue to hope and pray that the test blind and test optional pathways into good schools continue to exist.

The idea of applying to a non-UC T25 school without an ACT or SAT score, knowing there are at least 10x the number of applicants with perfect, rigorous grades than there are applicants with perfect test scores AND that some of the competing applicants are going to be bringing a 36 or a 1600 to the party - I mean, all other things equal, good luck.

You are missing the big picture…CA has 7 UC schools ranked higher than nearly every other flagship across the country…they have Cal State options that provide strong options.

I bet if UVA, VT, WM, UMD, PITT, Penn State…and then list 15 other schools that folks discuss on this board…if they were all test blind, you would see way fewer DMV kids take tests as well. That is what CA offers its residents.

Great point

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Live in LA and have kids at private school. Last year maybe 20% of kids did SAT/ACT. This year the school stopped having the kids to PSAT their Jr year. It is just going away out here.

20% of kids in CA took SAT in 2022. It was almost 70% a few years ago.

If anything, you’re directionally highlighting how the pandemic reduced the number of administrations. Not sure where you sourced those figures, but it doesn’t really matter anyway.

Top students in California will continue to take the ACT and/or the SAT, and the students who don’t test well will continue to hope and pray that the test blind and test optional pathways into good schools continue to exist.

The idea of applying to a non-UC T25 school without an ACT or SAT score, knowing there are at least 10x the number of applicants with perfect, rigorous grades than there are applicants with perfect test scores AND that some of the competing applicants are going to be bringing a 36 or a 1600 to the party - I mean, all other things equal, good luck.

You are missing the big picture…CA has 7 UC schools ranked higher than nearly every other flagship across the country…they have Cal State options that provide strong options.

I bet if UVA, VT, WM, UMD, PITT, Penn State…and then list 15 other schools that folks discuss on this board…if they were all test blind, you would see way fewer DMV kids take tests as well. That is what CA offers its residents.

Great point

The UC and CSU systems were flooded with over 1.5 million applications last year. There are not enough seats to fill even 10% of those individuals.

Now that the “bad test taker” crowd has been heard, everyone just gets a lottery ticket.

Some may call that progress. And if your kid is a bad test taker, I guess it seems that way in the short term. But for the rest of us, it’s an unfortunate step in the wrong direction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Live in LA and have kids at private school. Last year maybe 20% of kids did SAT/ACT. This year the school stopped having the kids to PSAT their Jr year. It is just going away out here.

20% of kids in CA took SAT in 2022. It was almost 70% a few years ago.

If anything, you’re directionally highlighting how the pandemic reduced the number of administrations. Not sure where you sourced those figures, but it doesn’t really matter anyway.

Top students in California will continue to take the ACT and/or the SAT, and the students who don’t test well will continue to hope and pray that the test blind and test optional pathways into good schools continue to exist.

The idea of applying to a non-UC T25 school without an ACT or SAT score, knowing there are at least 10x the number of applicants with perfect, rigorous grades than there are applicants with perfect test scores AND that some of the competing applicants are going to be bringing a 36 or a 1600 to the party - I mean, all other things equal, good luck.

You are missing the big picture…CA has 7 UC schools ranked higher than nearly every other flagship across the country…they have Cal State options that provide strong options.

I bet if UVA, VT, WM, UMD, PITT, Penn State…and then list 15 other schools that folks discuss on this board…if they were all test blind, you would see way fewer DMV kids take tests as well. That is what CA offers its residents.

Great point

The UC and CSU systems were flooded with over 1.5 million applications last year. There are not enough seats to fill even 10% of those individuals.

Now that the “bad test taker” crowd has been heard, everyone just gets a lottery ticket.

Some may call that progress. And if your kid is a bad test taker, I guess it seems that way in the short term. But for the rest of us, it’s an unfortunate step in the wrong direction.

And top students would want UCLA or Berkeley and those are very tough admits. So they have to apply outside the UC system which means they need to take tests and get top scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Live in LA and have kids at private school. Last year maybe 20% of kids did SAT/ACT. This year the school stopped having the kids to PSAT their Jr year. It is just going away out here.

20% of kids in CA took SAT in 2022. It was almost 70% a few years ago.

If anything, you’re directionally highlighting how the pandemic reduced the number of administrations. Not sure where you sourced those figures, but it doesn’t really matter anyway.

Top students in California will continue to take the ACT and/or the SAT, and the students who don’t test well will continue to hope and pray that the test blind and test optional pathways into good schools continue to exist.

The idea of applying to a non-UC T25 school without an ACT or SAT score, knowing there are at least 10x the number of applicants with perfect, rigorous grades than there are applicants with perfect test scores AND that some of the competing applicants are going to be bringing a 36 or a 1600 to the party - I mean, all other things equal, good luck.

You are missing the big picture…CA has 7 UC schools ranked higher than nearly every other flagship across the country…they have Cal State options that provide strong options.

I bet if UVA, VT, WM, UMD, PITT, Penn State…and then list 15 other schools that folks discuss on this board…if they were all test blind, you would see way fewer DMV kids take tests as well. That is what CA offers its residents.

Great point

The UC and CSU systems were flooded with over 1.5 million applications last year. There are not enough seats to fill even 10% of those individuals.

Now that the “bad test taker” crowd has been heard, everyone just gets a lottery ticket.

Some may call that progress. And if your kid is a bad test taker, I guess it seems that way in the short term. But for the rest of us, it’s an unfortunate step in the wrong direction.

And top students would want UCLA or Berkeley and those are very tough admits. So they have to apply outside the UC system which means they need to take tests and get top scores.

That is not true…top students who want/need in state tuition will go down an extensive list that goes well beyond those two schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Live in LA and have kids at private school. Last year maybe 20% of kids did SAT/ACT. This year the school stopped having the kids to PSAT their Jr year. It is just going away out here.

20% of kids in CA took SAT in 2022. It was almost 70% a few years ago.

If anything, you’re directionally highlighting how the pandemic reduced the number of administrations. Not sure where you sourced those figures, but it doesn’t really matter anyway.

Top students in California will continue to take the ACT and/or the SAT, and the students who don’t test well will continue to hope and pray that the test blind and test optional pathways into good schools continue to exist.

The idea of applying to a non-UC T25 school without an ACT or SAT score, knowing there are at least 10x the number of applicants with perfect, rigorous grades than there are applicants with perfect test scores AND that some of the competing applicants are going to be bringing a 36 or a 1600 to the party - I mean, all other things equal, good luck.

You are missing the big picture…CA has 7 UC schools ranked higher than nearly every other flagship across the country…they have Cal State options that provide strong options.

I bet if UVA, VT, WM, UMD, PITT, Penn State…and then list 15 other schools that folks discuss on this board…if they were all test blind, you would see way fewer DMV kids take tests as well. That is what CA offers its residents.

Great point

The UC and CSU systems were flooded with over 1.5 million applications last year. There are not enough seats to fill even 10% of those individuals.

Now that the “bad test taker” crowd has been heard, everyone just gets a lottery ticket.

Some may call that progress. And if your kid is a bad test taker, I guess it seems that way in the short term. But for the rest of us, it’s an unfortunate step in the wrong direction.

And top students would want UCLA or Berkeley and those are very tough admits. So they have to apply outside the UC system which means they need to take tests and get top scores.

That’s the point.

The cackling, self-satisfied crowd who think ACT and SAT tests are going away for good are already setting sights on AP test scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Live in LA and have kids at private school. Last year maybe 20% of kids did SAT/ACT. This year the school stopped having the kids to PSAT their Jr year. It is just going away out here.

20% of kids in CA took SAT in 2022. It was almost 70% a few years ago.

If anything, you’re directionally highlighting how the pandemic reduced the number of administrations. Not sure where you sourced those figures, but it doesn’t really matter anyway.

Top students in California will continue to take the ACT and/or the SAT, and the students who don’t test well will continue to hope and pray that the test blind and test optional pathways into good schools continue to exist.

The idea of applying to a non-UC T25 school without an ACT or SAT score, knowing there are at least 10x the number of applicants with perfect, rigorous grades than there are applicants with perfect test scores AND that some of the competing applicants are going to be bringing a 36 or a 1600 to the party - I mean, all other things equal, good luck.

You are missing the big picture…CA has 7 UC schools ranked higher than nearly every other flagship across the country…they have Cal State options that provide strong options.

I bet if UVA, VT, WM, UMD, PITT, Penn State…and then list 15 other schools that folks discuss on this board…if they were all test blind, you would see way fewer DMV kids take tests as well. That is what CA offers its residents.

Great point

The UC and CSU systems were flooded with over 1.5 million applications last year. There are not enough seats to fill even 10% of those individuals.

Now that the “bad test taker” crowd has been heard, everyone just gets a lottery ticket.

Some may call that progress. And if your kid is a bad test taker, I guess it seems that way in the short term. But for the rest of us, it’s an unfortunate step in the wrong direction.

And top students would want UCLA or Berkeley and those are very tough admits. So they have to apply outside the UC system which means they need to take tests and get top scores.

That is not true…top students who want/need in state tuition will go down an extensive list that goes well beyond those two schools.

I have two kids in public HS in Los Angeles. There are 7 schools in the UC system we consider worthwhile. The UC system guarantees a place for the top 8% of students.

[Anonymous]

Scores were never necessary or sufficient for identifying top students. The well funded small schools are happy to be rid of them and it will stay that way. This includes CalTech. MIT has a bigger class to fill, they still don’t need scores, but requiring them appeals to their target audience, especially the delusional parents, so no surprises there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Live in LA and have kids at private school. Last year maybe 20% of kids did SAT/ACT. This year the school stopped having the kids to PSAT their Jr year. It is just going away out here.

20% of kids in CA took SAT in 2022. It was almost 70% a few years ago.

If anything, you’re directionally highlighting how the pandemic reduced the number of administrations. Not sure where you sourced those figures, but it doesn’t really matter anyway.

Top students in California will continue to take the ACT and/or the SAT, and the students who don’t test well will continue to hope and pray that the test blind and test optional pathways into good schools continue to exist.

The idea of applying to a non-UC T25 school without an ACT or SAT score, knowing there are at least 10x the number of applicants with perfect, rigorous grades than there are applicants with perfect test scores AND that some of the competing applicants are going to be bringing a 36 or a 1600 to the party - I mean, all other things equal, good luck.

You are missing the big picture…CA has 7 UC schools ranked higher than nearly every other flagship across the country…they have Cal State options that provide strong options.

I bet if UVA, VT, WM, UMD, PITT, Penn State…and then list 15 other schools that folks discuss on this board…if they were all test blind, you would see way fewer DMV kids take tests as well. That is what CA offers its residents.

Great point

The UC and CSU systems were flooded with over 1.5 million applications last year. There are not enough seats to fill even 10% of those individuals.

Now that the “bad test taker” crowd has been heard, everyone just gets a lottery ticket.

Some may call that progress. And if your kid is a bad test taker, I guess it seems that way in the short term. But for the rest of us, it’s an unfortunate step in the wrong direction.

And top students would want UCLA or Berkeley and those are very tough admits. So they have to apply outside the UC system which means they need to take tests and get top scores.

That is not true…top students who want/need in state tuition will go down an extensive list that goes well beyond those two schools.

I have two kids in public HS in Los Angeles. There are 7 schools in the UC system we consider worthwhile. The UC system guarantees a place for the top 8% of students.

That’s literally just a personal preference. The entire UC system (UCLA, Berkeley, UCSD, UCSB, Irvine, Riverside, Merced…probably missing a couple) plus a number of Cal State schools are highly regarded.

That said…you also answered why top students that are committed to in state aren’t taking standardized tests…they are guaranteed admission.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Scores were never necessary or sufficient for identifying top students. The well funded small schools are happy to be rid of them and it will stay that way. This includes CalTech. MIT has a bigger class to fill, they still don’t need scores, but requiring them appeals to their target audience, especially the delusional parents, so no surprises there.

Says the delusional parent who is oblivious to the impact of grade inflation, but thrilled anyway because they can now get their kid a pity seat at the UC table.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course. The schools that like tests have moderate demand and moderate prices (Purdue, Bama) or high demand and high prices (MIT, CalTech). Moderate demand + high price = test optional, starting way before COVID with Bates and Chicago. Pomona definitely falls into that category. I would expect all ED schools to stay TO.

Except that Pomona is not moderate demand....

Or moderate price.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Live in LA and have kids at private school. Last year maybe 20% of kids did SAT/ACT. This year the school stopped having the kids to PSAT their Jr year. It is just going away out here.

20% of kids in CA took SAT in 2022. It was almost 70% a few years ago.

If anything, you’re directionally highlighting how the pandemic reduced the number of administrations. Not sure where you sourced those figures, but it doesn’t really matter anyway.

Top students in California will continue to take the ACT and/or the SAT, and the students who don’t test well will continue to hope and pray that the test blind and test optional pathways into good schools continue to exist.

The idea of applying to a non-UC T25 school without an ACT or SAT score, knowing there are at least 10x the number of applicants with perfect, rigorous grades than there are applicants with perfect test scores AND that some of the competing applicants are going to be bringing a 36 or a 1600 to the party - I mean, all other things equal, good luck.

You are missing the big picture…CA has 7 UC schools ranked higher than nearly every other flagship across the country…they have Cal State options that provide strong options.

I bet if UVA, VT, WM, UMD, PITT, Penn State…and then list 15 other schools that folks discuss on this board…if they were all test blind, you would see way fewer DMV kids take tests as well. That is what CA offers its residents.

Great point

The UC and CSU systems were flooded with over 1.5 million applications last year. There are not enough seats to fill even 10% of those individuals.

With the proviso that a lot of those 1.5 million applications are numerous kids spamming 10 or 20 schools each.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Scores were never necessary or sufficient for identifying top students.

They were (and are) necessary, though not sufficient.