2019 SAT Scores: Gaps Between Demographic Groups Grows Larger

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embargoed for use with 2019 College Board SAT scores — Tuesday, September 24, 2019

SAT SCORE GAPS BETWEEN DEMOGRAPHIC GROUPS GROWS LARGER;

TEST REMAINS A CLEARER MEASURE OF FAMILY BACKGROUND

THAN HIGHER EDUCATION READINESS

1,050+ COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES NOW DO NOT REQUIRE SAT OR ACT SCORES

SAT score gaps between demographic groups grew even larger for the high school class of 2019, according to an analysis by FairTest, the National Center for Fair & Open Testing. The nonprofit organization compared new exam results for this year’s graduates with those from 2018.

“Whether broken down by test-takers’ race, parental education or household income, average SAT scores of students from historically disenfranchised groups fell further behind their classmates from more privileged families,” explained Robert Schaeffer, FairTest’s Public Education Director. “That means access to colleges and financial aid will be even more skewed at schools that still rely on test scores to make admissions and tuition award decisions.”

Schaeffer continued, “The SAT remains a more accurate measure of a test-taker’s family background than of an applicant’s capacity to do college level work.No wonder nearly 40% of all four-year colleges and universities in the country are now test-optional. They recognize that standardized exam requirements undermine diversity without improving educational quality”

More than 1,050 accredited, bachelor-degree institutions now will evaluate all or many applicants without regard to test scores. FairTest’s test-optional database includes more than half of all “Top 100” liberal arts colleges. Upwards of 360 schools ranked in the top tiers of their categories by U.S. News & World Report no longer require the SAT or ACT.

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