Test optional over

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges can still admit students with low test scores even if they submit them!

Exactly. It doesn't mean kids who aren't great test takers won't get into college.

“Aren’t great test takers”, the foundation for academic measurement in every setting. Have you ever wondered if they “aren’t great test takers” but have a high GPA, how that occurred? Grade inflation? Retakes? Clearly it was not “test taking”. If there is one score I would use for college admissions it’s the SAT/ACT and secondarily AP scores. The amount of TO kids getting into colleges over my high stat GPA/SAT kids makes me crazy and I have every right to be.

Completely agree. If kid A tests better than kid B, it’s bc kid A IS SMARTER. Jeez.

[Anonymous]

To all the legacy bashers: repeated studies show they have stats as high and higher than the unconnected kids. Also, your jealousy is unbecoming. You could have gone to a top school yrs ago when it was admittedly easier to get in, donated for decades and given your kids the very same advantage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges can still admit students with low test scores even if they submit them!

Exactly. It doesn't mean kids who aren't great test takers won't get into college.

“Aren’t great test takers”, the foundation for academic measurement in every setting. Have you ever wondered if they “aren’t great test takers” but have a high GPA, how that occurred? Grade inflation? Retakes? Clearly it was not “test taking”. If there is one score I would use for college admissions it’s the SAT/ACT and secondarily AP scores. The amount of TO kids getting into colleges over my high stat GPA/SAT kids makes me crazy and I have every right to be.

Except you don’t know what’s in these other kids’ applications that makes them attractive to the schools relative to your kid. Just watch, even if test required comes back, you are going to see plenty of high test score kids still not get in because it’s all they have, and kids with lower scores (maybe not always as low as TO, but still lower) will. And it will still make you crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges can still admit students with low test scores even if they submit them!

Exactly. It doesn't mean kids who aren't great test takers won't get into college.

“Aren’t great test takers”, the foundation for academic measurement in every setting. Have you ever wondered if they “aren’t great test takers” but have a high GPA, how that occurred? Grade inflation? Retakes? Clearly it was not “test taking”. If there is one score I would use for college admissions it’s the SAT/ACT and secondarily AP scores. The amount of TO kids getting into colleges over my high stat GPA/SAT kids makes me crazy and I have every right to be.

What about writing? A kid may not test well but could be Ana amazing writer. That counts for nothing since they did normal in bubbles?

[Anonymous]

My ADHD scored in 97% and my non-ADHD got a perfect score, both with no prep. The ADHD has average grades and is a “bad test taker” in school. I think this is more a function of poor EF and study skills. They are amazing if they like a subject. The other child memorizes easily and has super critical thinking and work habits to go deeply into material, school comes easily even challenging classes. I really don’t understand the “bad test taker” trope. I said it about mine, but it’s really the weak habits. I would think the same is true for standardized tests. Weak habits or desire to do well.

[Anonymous]

Tests are one data point. It does convey some information that is helpful in understanding the overall application.

Say a kid from a low income family and a poorly performing school but scores very high in SAT, that kid deserves a closer look. Even if they have lower GPA and maybe inconsistent academics, LOR can provide context to the potential of this student that make admission possible.

On the other hand a student coming from a wealthy family going to a high performing school, has decent GPA and poor SAT scores. There is every reason to suspect they might not be a fit at a competitive school. Again they might have great scores on English section and if they are going to literature or some such field, that might not be a ding.

Point is scores do provide valuable information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges can still admit students with low test scores even if they submit them!

Exactly. It doesn't mean kids who aren't great test takers won't get into college.

“Aren’t great test takers”, the foundation for academic measurement in every setting. Have you ever wondered if they “aren’t great test takers” but have a high GPA, how that occurred? Grade inflation? Retakes? Clearly it was not “test taking”. If there is one score I would use for college admissions it’s the SAT/ACT and secondarily AP scores. The amount of TO kids getting into colleges over my high stat GPA/SAT kids makes me crazy and I have every right to be.

Almost everyone DD knows is getting an accommodation of some sort. Expect accommodations to rise if TO is eliminated.

There are really a lot of accommodations given at the wealthier schools and with the ACT since the content is easier. Personally, I think they should just allocate additional time as a standard as a way to mitigate this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Will they get rid of legacy admissions as a proxy for selecting wealthy white students?

Well since the demographics attending college have changed significantly over the last 20 years, wouldn’t legacy benefit all races now? This isn’t the 1980s where legacy exclusively means wealthy Caucasian anymore.

Yep. At Stanford, for example, 40% legacy applicants are of color and 50% legacy admits are of color.

Cite?

[Anonymous]

https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2024/02/05/misguided-war-test-optional-opinion

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree with PP- there is a college for everyone but being interesting, esp unverified, is not what should be driving any college admissions.

But there are some kids who are interesting, dynamic, and motivated with somewhat lower stats, but are still within the range of academic success at a particular college. Along with lower stats (of course, not dramatically so), their applications could show that they will be leaders and stars in their fields one day. It could be clear from their applications that due to their drive and likely success they will reflect well on their college in the future. Why not admit them? (My DCs don’t necessarily fall into this category, but I could see a college reasonably wanting to admit kids like this.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges can still admit students with low test scores even if they submit them!

Exactly. It doesn't mean kids who aren't great test takers won't get into college.

“Aren’t great test takers”, the foundation for academic measurement in every setting. Have you ever wondered if they “aren’t great test takers” but have a high GPA, how that occurred? Grade inflation? Retakes? Clearly it was not “test taking”. If there is one score I would use for college admissions it’s the SAT/ACT and secondarily AP scores. The amount of TO kids getting into colleges over my high stat GPA/SAT kids makes me crazy and I have every right to be.

What about writing? A kid may not test well but could be Ana amazing writer. That counts for nothing since they did normal in bubbles?

What about writing? Do you really care if the surgeon operating on your loved one is an excellent writer? Or the engineer who inspects the bridge you have to cross over every day?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges can still admit students with low test scores even if they submit them!

Exactly. It doesn't mean kids who aren't great test takers won't get into college.

“Aren’t great test takers”, the foundation for academic measurement in every setting. Have you ever wondered if they “aren’t great test takers” but have a high GPA, how that occurred? Grade inflation? Retakes? Clearly it was not “test taking”. If there is one score I would use for college admissions it’s the SAT/ACT and secondarily AP scores. The amount of TO kids getting into colleges over my high stat GPA/SAT kids makes me crazy and I have every right to be.

Almost everyone DD knows is getting an accommodation of some sort. Expect accommodations to rise if TO is eliminated.

There are really a lot of accommodations given at the wealthier schools and with the ACT since the content is easier. Personally, I think they should just allocate additional time as a standard as a way to mitigate this.

Yes, because when a patient is bleeding out on the operating table, a surgeon who "needs extra time" is perfect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges can still admit students with low test scores even if they submit them!

Exactly. It doesn't mean kids who aren't great test takers won't get into college.

“Aren’t great test takers”, the foundation for academic measurement in every setting. Have you ever wondered if they “aren’t great test takers” but have a high GPA, how that occurred? Grade inflation? Retakes? Clearly it was not “test taking”. If there is one score I would use for college admissions it’s the SAT/ACT and secondarily AP scores. The amount of TO kids getting into colleges over my high stat GPA/SAT kids makes me crazy and I have every right to be.

What about writing? A kid may not test well but could be Ana amazing writer. That counts for nothing since they did normal in bubbles?

What about writing? Do you really care if the surgeon operating on your loved one is an excellent writer? Or the engineer who inspects the bridge you have to cross over every day?

Writing is thinking on paper. It’s actually not some frivolity. A doctor who can’t use words to explain a complex diagnosis is a worse doctor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges can still admit students with low test scores even if they submit them!

Exactly. It doesn't mean kids who aren't great test takers won't get into college.

“Aren’t great test takers”, the foundation for academic measurement in every setting. Have you ever wondered if they “aren’t great test takers” but have a high GPA, how that occurred? Grade inflation? Retakes? Clearly it was not “test taking”. If there is one score I would use for college admissions it’s the SAT/ACT and secondarily AP scores. The amount of TO kids getting into colleges over my high stat GPA/SAT kids makes me crazy and I have every right to be.

What about writing? A kid may not test well but could be Ana amazing writer. That counts for nothing since they did normal in bubbles?

What about writing? Do you really care if the surgeon operating on your loved one is an excellent writer? Or the engineer who inspects the bridge you have to cross over every day?

Writing is thinking on paper. It’s actually not some frivolity. A doctor who can’t use words to explain a complex diagnosis is a worse doctor.

I really don't care about the doctors words if he can heal my sick child. If your kid was dying, you'd really choose the doctor who "wrote well" over the one that could save your child's life?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges can still admit students with low test scores even if they submit them!

Exactly. It doesn't mean kids who aren't great test takers won't get into college.

“Aren’t great test takers”, the foundation for academic measurement in every setting. Have you ever wondered if they “aren’t great test takers” but have a high GPA, how that occurred? Grade inflation? Retakes? Clearly it was not “test taking”. If there is one score I would use for college admissions it’s the SAT/ACT and secondarily AP scores. The amount of TO kids getting into colleges over my high stat GPA/SAT kids makes me crazy and I have every right to be.

What about writing? A kid may not test well but could be Ana amazing writer. That counts for nothing since they did normal in bubbles?

What about writing? Do you really care if the surgeon operating on your loved one is an excellent writer? Or the engineer who inspects the bridge you have to cross over every day?

Writing is thinking on paper. It’s actually not some frivolity. A doctor who can’t use words to explain a complex diagnosis is a worse doctor.

I really don't care about the doctors words if he can heal my sick child. If your kid was dying, you'd really choose the doctor who "wrote well" over the one that could save your child's life?

I do care that my doctor can think and communicate, yes.