Test-blind and test-optional policies hurt more than they help By Audrey Song

The UC system’s reasoning for going test-blind (meaning that standardized tests, like

the SAT and the ACT, aren’t a factor in college acceptances) included concerns that the tests

were biased against low-income and minority groups, and that not including them would give a

fairer shot at succeeding in the application process. They influenced a wave of test-optional

policies at most universities across the nation, making it so that students with lower scores

could stand more of a chance at being accepted into elite colleges.

However, this approach is flawed for two reasons; it puts more emphasis on other

aspects of the application process while removing a key component of a student’s overall

application. Without test scores, more emphasis is placed on extracurricular activities and

essays. Personally, I believe that these factors are even more influenced by a person’s income

and minority standing than test scores. Richer, well-off families are able to pay for expensive

internships, summer abroad programs, and all sorts of different extracurricular activities for their

students to be considered “top-tier,” while lower-income students do not have these resources.

Parents can hire counselors to essentially write essays for their students. Sometimes, just

grinding for a test with material that students should have already learned the basics of during

their time in high school is much more achievable for students than cultivating an applicant

profile with big-name internships and well-polished essays.

In an article I read, in a college’s first round of test-optional admissions, students with

1600 and 36s on the SAT and ACT were not admitted to this school. While standardized tests

are far from perfect, they are an indicator of good academic performance and intelligence in

students. They are mainly based on core concepts that students learn in class; for students who

wish to take an academic pathway in college, they can be an extremely helpful leg-up in the

admissions process. Without having these opportunities, students who score well are essentially

robbed of their own achievements.