Study Recommends Abandoning SAT Scores or Lowering Their Weight in Admissions Decisions at the Nation’s Elite Colleges and Universities

A new report published by the American Sociological Association offers a simple and easy approach to increasing racial diversity on campus without using race-sensitive admissions policies. The solution: Do away with the SAT and the ACT as factors in the admissions process.

In the current issue of the American Sociological Review, sociologists Sigal Alon of Tel Aviv University and Marta Tienda of Princeton University recommend that universities concentrate on high school grade point average and class rank in admissions decisions. They feel these measures of academic success have been shown to be as good as, if not better than, standardized test scores as predictors of success in college.

According to the authors, “Test scores seem to be an increasingly important barrier for minorities’ chances to attain a bachelor’s degree, restricting their opportunities to become leaders in all walks of life.”

The authors’ data shows that by eliminating or reducing the weight of test scores in admissions decisions, the nation’s most selective colleges and universities can achieve the goal of enrolling a diverse student body while not compromising excellence.

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