Tests Getting More Important to College Admission

In Inside Higher Ed, I read that some colleges are thinking about dropping the test requirement altogether. And at the same time, the percentage of colleges that say testing is very important has grown by more than ten percent since 1995. Of course, very few current high school students will be affected by this call to do away with standardized tests, but their younger siblings might be.

Here's the whole story:

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/09/22/testing

A couple of interesting highlights:

"Calling on colleges to 'take back the conversation,' a special panel convened by the National Association for College Admission Counseling will this week encourage colleges to consider dropping the SAT or ACT as admissions requirements."

"And in May, Wake Forest University announced it would go SAT-optional. Wake is No. 30 on the U.S. News & World Report list of top national universities and however much most educators may dispute the meaning of that list, it is influential with many prospective students, and this marks the first time that an institution that high on the list for universities has ever dropped its standardized testing requirement."

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Colleges Attributing ‘Considerable Importance’ to Admissions Factors

Factor	1995	2000	2005
Grades in college-prep courses/strength of curriculum	80%	78%	74%
Admission test scores	47%	58%	59%
Essay	21%	20%	23%
Class rank	39%	34%	31%
Extracurricular activities	7%	7%	8%