Test-Optional: Blessing or Curse?

You’ve probably heard about the “test-optional” concept. It’s the idea that colleges no longer require SAT or ACT scores for admission. Recently, a vast majority of Ivy League schools and other institutions have officially dropped their test-optional policies, sparking divided opinions about whether this change promotes fairness or not. While some argue that standardized tests give students from different backgrounds, schools, and countries an equal benchmark to compete on, others believe that it only reinforces inequality and favors those with better education opportunities and test preparation. The fact is, this a complex issue, and the gap between test-optional policies promise and what they actually mean for our students’ futures is way wider than it seems on the surface. 

A common misconception about test-optional is that it started existing during COVID. It actually started decades ago. Before the pandemic, some schools already argued that GPA, coursework, and personal qualities were just as important, if not more, than performance on a high-pressure exam. When the corona virus hit, however, test centers were closed, and almost every school had to go test-optional, including prestigious Ivies. This is when the philosophy exploded and became a mainstream admissions norm. Many people see test-optional as the perfect solution for fairness, but that’s not exactly the case. First, as colleges adopt this policy, more applicants are brought in, making their acceptance rates drop and giving the illusion of increased selectivity. 

Second, test-optional does not magically level the playing field the way people think it does. Students who already have access to strong schools, private tutors, and fancy extracurriculars no longer need a test score to stand out: they can rely on everything else in their application. Meanwhile, students from under-resourced schools often depend on high SAT or ACT scores to compensate for weaker course offerings and fewer opportunities. So if they don’t send scores, they usually don’t have much else in the application that can “speak for them.” In a way, test-optional did not fix the imbalance, it deepened it. That’s the tricky part: rich kids do not necessarily need tests, and low-income kids often do. Wealthy kids often have legacy boosts, fancy recommendation letters, as well as top-notch extracurriculars. If their score isn’t good enough, they can just choose not to send it as their application will still be stacked. But realistically, a low-income student might not have various APs, private recommendation writers, and luxurious sports. As a result, an affluent group of people choosing not to send their SAT or ACT scores can be strategic. On the other hand, low-income kids deciding not to send their score may be risky.

Furthermore, going test-optional creates another issue: if students from under-resourced schools start submitting fewer scores because they assumed that not having a score would not hurt them, they may end up unintentionally putting themselves at a disadvantage. Meanwhile, some of the wealthier applicants keep submitting strong scores, which only widens the gap the policy was supposed to mitigate. According to the New York Times, a study from Harvard economists showed that even when students have the same SAT scores, wealthy applicants are way more likely to get in. In other words, the problem is not the test itself, but the unequal contexts surrounding the applicants. 

All these issues are exactly why so many colleges, including Ivies, are now dropping this policy. After years of experimenting with test-optional admissions, many schools realized that removing the SAT/ACT scores would not magically create equity; in some cases, it made things even more confusing and uneven. Admissions officers found themselves with less information about students. And despite all the debate, SAT/ACT scores do provide a reasonable consistent measure that helps predict college success. Standardized tests aren’t perfect, but they still play an important role when used alongside other measures such as transcripts, essays, and extracurriculars. This gives a fuller, more balanced picture of a student's potential. 

So, is test-optional a blessing or a curse? While it may be strategic for some students, it also creates new major gaps and disadvantages for others. In practice, it mostly helped students who were already doing fine. For others, especially students who rely on scores to stand out, it just made admissions more uneven and nonsensical. That’s why what we truly need is transparency. Schools should clarify how they treat scores, when they help, when they don't, and whether applicants who choose not to submit are at a disadvantage. Without that honesty, test-optional becomes less about equity and more about marketing. Perhaps with real accountability, test-optional could give students a fairer shot, but right now it isn't delivering on that promise. 

Source: 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/07/24/upshot/ivy-league-elite-college-admissions.html