Worcester is home to a cluster of colleges that are part of a growing trend in higher education: schools that don't require students to submit test scores to get in
You are a high school student trying to get into a highly-ranked, selective college in Worcester. Your SAT scores matter _____
(A) more than anything else you've done.
(B) a lot.
(C) not at all.
Worcester is home to a cluster of colleges that are part of a growing trend in higher education: schools that don't require students to submit test scores to be accepted.
College of the Holy Cross, Clark University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Assumption College -- all with places among the U.S. News & World Report's rankings -- are all test-optional. Students who apply are free to submit their scores, but those who don't are not penalized. A high school transcript with good grades and challenging courses are all it takes.
As the organization that runs the once all-important SAT is planning big changes for the test, admissions officials at the four schools say SAT or ACT scores can provide some information, but they are so far down on the list when evaluating an applicant they don't feel like they're missing anything.
"One day filling in bubbles doesn't tell you about the fire in their belly, or their drive to work hard," said Ann McDermott, director of admissions at Holy Cross.
At Clark, admissions staff evaluate students in six categories -- high school grades, rigor of coursework, writing skills, extra curricular activities, recommendations and, if submitted, test scores -- said Don Honeman, dean of admissions & financial aid.
"The one that's least predictive of a students likelihood of success in college is the standardized test," Honeman said.
The admissions directors said switching to a test-optional admissions policy has broadened their applicant pool -- attracting more minorities, women and first-generation college students -- without significantly affecting how successful those students are in college.
"We don't see any difference," in students who submit their scores and those that don't, McDermott said.
A study released last month of 123,000 students at 33 test-optional schools across the country found similar results. The study, lead by former Bates College Dean of Admissions William C. Hiss, found that there was "virtually no difference" in the GPAs or graduation rates of students who submitted test scores and those that didn't.
There are now more than 800 test-optional schools in the United States, according to FairTest, a group that is critical of most standardized testing.
Earlier this month, the company that runs the SAT announced it would undergo its second major overhaul to the test since 2005. Among other changes, the SAT will do away with the essay portion, obscure vocabulary words and the penalty for guessing.
Bob Schaeffer, public education director for FairTest, said the changes amounted to cosmetic surgery that did nothing to change the underlying problems with the SAT, which he said unfairly favor male students from affluent families.
'It's hard to believe that any three-hour, multiple choice test can tell you anything much that is meaningful about how a 17-year-old is going to mature over the next four years," Schaeffer said.
WORCESTER: A CLUSTER
Worcester has become a hub of the test-optional movement, Schaeffer said. It started in 2005 when Holy Cross became the first Worcester college to go test-optional.
McDermott, of Holy Cross, said the change was made around the time the SAT made it's last big changes, adding the essay portion and moving the high score to 2400.
"It just seemed like there was such hysteria," over the test, McDermott said.
She recalled visiting a school in Puerto Rico to recruit applicants, before the test-optional policy. Most of the students spoke English as a second language, a group that historically has underperformed on tests like the SAT.
Their first question, McDermott said, was "what's your average SAT score?"
"And you just see their faces fall," she said.
"We wanted to get the message to parents and students that what they do day-to-day, those are the things that we value," she said.
In recent years, roughly 30 percent of students apply to Holy Cross without submitting test scores, McDermott said.
Clark has seen a 74 percent increase in applications since going test-optional in 2013. Some of the increases can be attributed to the school's expanded recruiting area, said Honeman, but he believes the switch to test-optional has played a big role in the jump.
MORE WOMEN
After WPI became test-optional in 2008, the change has resulted in more female applicants - a significant advance at a technical/engineering school.
Young women are more likely to have self-doubt about pursuing a career in science or engineering, said WPI Senior Vice President Kristin Tichenor said. Removing the barrier of the test encourages good students who are worried about their scores to apply.
"Students tend to worry even before they submit the application that they're not going to be up to snuff," Tichenor said.
Only about five percent of WPI applicants choose not to submit their scores, Tichenor said. But being test-optional let the school signal to students, parents and high school counselors that scores aren't the be-all and end-all.
"We believe there was symbolic value in letting them know that the SATs are not driving the process," Tichenor said.
Those students who don't send scores are encouraged to send something else -- a class project, community service work, a robot they designed in their spare time -- to demonstrate their worth as potential students.
SMALLER SCHOOLS
Honeman, of Clark, said the policy was easier to implement at a smaller school. Among the Worcester test-optional schools, WPI has that largest undergraduate enrollment, at just under 4,000.
At a big state school -- like, the University of Massachusetts, for example -- the number of applications might be too large to handle through without some means of sorting students into groups, Honeman said.
Even Scheffer acknowledges it could be difficult for understaffed state universities to completely do away with their reliance on testing. Though some big state schools, including the University of Arizona, have done it.
"It can be done, but no question it would take more work for UMass to go test-optional than it's taken (WPI)."
