College and University Admissions Testing

FairTest’s work to reduce the role of standardized tests as gatekeepers to higher education has never been more important – nor has it had as much support. Nationwide, scores of colleges and universities are reexamining their admissions policies and de-emphasizing test scores. Visit the following pages to learn more about our work on university testing reform:

• Gender and racial bias
• Test Score based scholarship programs such as the National Merit Scholarship.
  • See FairTest’s 2013 news release: Release: National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Scores Vary Greatly State-By State
• Fact Sheets on the New SAT, ACT
• GRE, GMAT, MCAT, computerized testing, the predictive validity of the SAT, and a comparison of the SAT I/SAT II/ACT, and links to Examiner articles on test score misuse.
• Alternative to using tests– see FairTest’s list of schools that have de-emphasized test scores, read about the experiences of some of the schools on the list, download FairTest’s report “Test Scores Do Not Equal Merit,” and review Examiner articles on test-score optional admissions.
• News releases and Updates – read FairTest news releases and other updates related to university testing issues.

Contact FairTest’s Robert Schaeffer (239) 395-6773 for more information if you are having issues with University Testing.

A Chronological Archive of University Testing Materials:

• New, Digital SAT is a College Board Marketing Ploy Not A Fairer, More Accurate Admission Tool
• More Than 1,830+ Schools Do Not Require ACT/SAT Scores From Current High School Seniors Applying For Fall 2022
• College Board National Recognition Program Administration Failures Leaves Thousands of Black, Hispanic, Latino, Indigenous and Rural Students Behind
• New Tool to Combat College Board/ETS Testing Screw Ups
• Record 1,785+ Schools Are Test-Optional For Fall 2022
• 1,700+ Colleges and Universities Do Not Require ACT/SAT Scores From Fall 2022 Applicants
• Two-Thirds of Bachelor-degree Granting U.S. Colleges and Universities Will Not Require ACT/SAT Scores From Fall 2022 Applicants
• 1,500+ U.S. Four-Year Colleges and Universities Will Not Require ACT/SAT Scores for Fall 2022 Entry
• 1,400+ U.S. Four-Year Colleges and Universities Will Not Require ACT/SAT Scores for Fall 2022 Entry
• More Than Half of All U.S. Colleges and Universities Are Already ACT/SAT Optional for Fall 2022 Applicants
• National Call to Suspend High-Stakes Testing in Spring 2021
• Two-thirds of all U.S. colleges and universities are test-optional or test-blind for fall 2021 applicants
• Three-Fifths of Four-Year Colleges and Universities Are Test-Optional for Fall 2021 Admission; Total of Schools Not Requiring ACT/SAT Exceeds 1,450
• More Than Half of All U.S. Four-Years Colleges and Universities Will Be Test-Optional for Fall 2021 Admission
• Colleges And Universities Temporarily Waiving ACT/SAT Requirements For 2020 Admissions Only
• 2019 College-Bound Seniors SAT Scores
• 2019 The Best Year Ever for Test-Optional Higher Ed. Admissions
• Global SAT Subject Test Security Breach; Scores Compromised
• FairTest Reacts to the 2019 College Admissions Scandal
• “Beyond The GRE” Campaign And “GREXIT” Web List Seek To Downplay Tests In Graduate School Admissions
• FairTest Reacts to the 2018 SAT Scores & Score Charts
• FairTest Reacts to the 2018 ACT Scores & 2018 College Bound Seniors Average ACT Scores
• Major New Study Shows Test-Optional Policies Increase Diversity, Preserve Academic Quality
• ACT/SAT Test-Optional List Tops 1,000 Colleges, Universities
• FairTest Reacts to 2017 ACT Scores
• Cheating Barn Door Left Open by New SAT Security Rules
• Admissions Movement Leaving ACT/SAT Behind – Higher Education
• Test-Optional Admissions list Tops 900 Colleges and Universities
• SATs Drop Again, as Test-Optional Movement Surges
• Half of “Top 100” National Liberal Arts Colleges Do Not Require ACT/SAT
• More Colleges Drop ACT Requirement as Taxpayer Subsidized Test Volume Grows
• SAT Subject Tests “Fading Away” As Admissions Requirement; Hundreds Of Thousands Fewer Exams Administered
• Testing Resistance & Reform News: June 15 – 21, 2016
• Report Shows Many Admissions Offices Don’t Have Current ACT/SAT Predictive Validity Studies
• SAT “Facelift” Fails To Address Exam’s Basic Flaws; 50+ Schools Go Test-Optional Since Revisions Announced
• Class of 2016 National Merit Scholarship Cut-Off Scores Vary By State But Assure Most Awards Go To Affluent Families
• Computerized Testing Problems – Chronology
• 2015 SAT Score Report Reaction
• Five Years Of Flat ACT Scores Show Test-And-Punish Policies Failed To Improve Average College Readiness Or Significantly Narrow Racial Gaps
• George Washington University Goes Test-Optional
• FairTest Seeks Help for Test-Takers Hurt by June 6 SAT Timing/Scoring Fiasco
• New Survey Shows Record Number Of Colleges And Universities Dropped ACT/SAT Exam Score Requirements In Past Year
• Help FairTest Grow the Testing Reform Movement
• Widespread SAT Cheating Continues in Asia
• 2014 SAT Score Trend Remains Flat; Test-Fixated School Policies Have Not Improved College Readiness
• What to Look for In Class of 2014 SAT Scores
• Testing Reform Victories: The First Wave
• FairTest Statement to the Lee County FL School Board on the Reconsideration of the Vote to “Opt Out” of Standardized Exams.
• Testing Resistance & Reform News: August 20 – 26, 2014
• FairTest News Release: Stagnant ACT Scores show Failure of Test Driven Policies
• Pearson’s History of Testing Problems
• FairTest Reaction to “New” SAT Plan: Overhaul Likely to Spur Test-Optional Admission
• FairTest Questions the College Board on Plans for “New” SAT
• New Report Shows Test-Optional Admissions Helps Diversity, Excellence
• FairTest Press Release on 2013 Release of SAT Scores
• 2014 National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Scores Released
• Testing Resistance & Reform News: July 18 – 24, 2013
• FairTest Press Release: Widespread Computer Testing Not Ready for Primetime
• FairTest to honor Jonathan Kozol with Deborah W. Meier Hero in Education Award
• FairTest News Release on the release of the 2012 SAT Scores
• FairTest Press Release on 2012 ACT Results
• High-Stakes Testing Resistance Spreads Across Nation
• Testing Reform in the News — June 13 – 15, 2012
• Pop Quiz on Testing
• Testing Reform in the News — June 8 – 12, 2012
• Test Reformers Force Cancellation of “Rich Kids SAT”
• Fair Testing Advocates Urge College Board: Cancel Special “Rich Kids SAT”
• FairTest Protests Special Mid-Summer SAT Limited to “Rich Kids”
• FairTest’s Op Ed in The Atlanta Journal Constitution: When put to a test, testing culture flunks
• FairTest Press Release on Many Test-Optional Schools Earning High U.S. News Rankings
• What to Look For in Next Week’s SAT Score Report and U.S. News College Rankings
• FairTest News Release: Flat ACT scores shows failure of test-driven “school reform” + ACT score results.
• FairTest Reacts to the 2010 SAT Scores
• 2010 College-bound Seniors Average SAT Scores
• 2010 College-bound seniors average ACT Scores
• WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN THE 2010 ACT & SAT SCORE REPORTS
• WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN THE 2010 ACT & SAT SCORE REPORTS
• National Merit Scholarship Corp. Bullies School To Remove Scores From Web; Fairtest Re-Post’s “Censored” Data To Show Biases
• FairTest Reacts to the 2009 SAT Score Release
• FairTest Press Release on the 2009 ACT Scores
• What to Look for in this month’s ACT & SAT Score Reports
• Test Optional Schools List Tops 815!
• FairTest on College Board’s New “READISTEP” Test
• TEST-OPTIONAL COLLEGES LIST SOARS PAST 775
• FairTest Optional List Download Page
• FairTest: What to Look for in the 2008 SAT Score Report
• ACT Scores Reaction — A Different Test, Not a Better One
• Video: “FairTest: You Can’t Judge Learning with a Standardized Test”
• FairTest Reacts to the “New” SAT Validity Studies
• April FairTest Examiner Newsletter Published
• Texas Public University System profile from Test Scores Do Not Equal Merit
• Muhlenberg College profile from Test Scores Do No Equal Merit
• California State University System profile taken from Test Scores Do Not Equal Merit:
• Bates College profile taken from Test Scores Do Not Equal Merit:
• Admissions Quotes
• SAT Scoring Error 2006
• Q&A With FairTest’s Public Education Director
• FairTest’s Reaction to the Release of the 2007 SAT Scores
• The SAT: Questions and Answers (PDF)
• GMAT – Padlock on MBA Admissions Gates (PDF)
• Questions for Test Proponents About “New” University Admissions Exams
• Letter to UC Regents, 2002
• Examiner Articles Highlighting SAT/ACT Alternatives
• MA Koplik Scholarship
• Summary Analysis of the Michigan Merit Scholarship Program
• Letter to Jeb Bush
• Florida Bright Futures Scholarship
• Cureton vs. NCAA
• University Testing: National Merit
• Test Scores Do Not Equal Merit: Executive Summary
• Profiles of “Test Optional” Colleges
• University Testing: Alternatives
• University Testing: Scholarships
• University Testing: NCAA
• University Testing: Bias
• 2000 College Bound Seniors Test Scores: SAT
• 2001 College Bound Seniors Test Scores: SAT
• 2005 College Bound Seniors Average ACT Scores
• 2005 College Bound Seniors Average SAT Scores
• Letter to College Board
• 2006 College Bound Seniors Average SAT Scores
• What to Look for in the College Board’s SAT Score Report
• 2007 Average ACT Scores
• ACT “Smokescreen” Focuses on Small Annual Score Changes but Hides Strong Link Between Test Results and Family Income
• Influencing Editorials
• Gender Bias in College Admissions Tests
• Gender Bias in Proposition 16 and 48
• What’s Wrong with Proposition 48 and 16?
• “Healthy” Medical School Admissions
• Different Tests, Same Flaws: A Comparison of the SAT, SAT II and ACT
• 10 Myths about the SAT
• Selected Annotated Bibliography on The SAT: Bias and Misuse
• SAT I: A Faulty Instrument For Predicting College Success
• The “New” SAT: A Better Test or Just a Marketing Ploy?
• The SAT: Questions and Answers
• The ACT: Biased, Inaccurate, and Misused
• Examining the GRE: Myths, Misuses, and Alternatives
• GMAT – Padlock on MBA Admissions Gates
• University Testing: Problems
• “New” SAT Average Score Plunge, Test-Registration Drop Further Undermine College Board Credibility
• Test-Maker’s SAT Score-Decline Math Fails to Add Up; FairTest Urges College Board, “Tell the Truth”
• FairTest Praises N.Y. Senate Subpoena of College Board SAT Scoring Error Report
• Testimony of Robert Schaeffer Before the New York Senate Higher Education Committee
• SAT/ACT Optional Admissions List Soars to 730 Colleges
• Minimal Changes in SAT and ACT Admissions Scores Show High School Graduation Testing Has Not Improved
• College Board Seeks to Suppress SAT Equity Charts; Lawyers’ Letter Claims Copyright Control Over Data on Test’s Bias
• College Board Seeks to Suppress SAT Equity Charts
• Faculty, Civil Rights, and Education Groups Blast UC Regent’s Claims about Berkeley and the SAT
• Supreme Court Michigan Decisions Will Encourage “Holistic” Admissions
• New FairTest Analysis Finds: More than 700 4-Year Colleges Are SAT/ACT Optional
• SAT Gender and Racial Gaps Increase Misuse of Test Results Will Hurt College Diversity
• College Board Focus on Small Annual Score Variations Deflects Attention from Exam’s Fundamental Flaws
• Princeton Review State Test Rankings Equivalent to Arthur Anderson Audit of Enron
• FairTest Supreme Court Amicus Brief Demonstrates “Test Scores Do Not Equal ‘Merit'”
• New Report Shows MCAS Will Block College Access for Thousands of Students
• U.S. Naval Academy Challenged Over Misuse of SAT/ACT Exams; Minimum Score Requirement Violates Test Use Guidelines
• Florida State Scholarship Program Unfairly Discriminates, Say Civil Rights and Educational Groups
• ACT Misused for School Ratings, Accreditation, Accountability; Test-Taker Increase Boosted by Company-Sanctioned Score Abuse
• College Board Emphasis on Small Score Changes Encourage SAT Misuse by Colleges, Scholarship Programs
• Test Critics Tell College Board Trustees: “New SAT” Proposals are Cosmetic, Marketing Ploy Evading Test’s Real Problems
• SAT Repackaging Fails to Address Fundamental Flaws, May Incrase Exam’s Bias and Coachability
• U.C. Regents Urged to Question Admissions Test Change Impacts FairTest Says Current Proposals Fail to Address Concerns
• The Truth Behind the Hype: A Closer Look at the SAT
• Civil Rights, Ed. Advocacy Groups Seek Racial Bias Probe of Bright Futures Scholarship Award Formula
• SAT Scores Not Needed for Fair, Valid College Admissions
• GMAT Scoring Error Hurt A Thousand Business School Applicants; Test-Takers Were Not Told of Mistake for Ten Months
• College Board Challenged to End “Blatant Hypocrisy” by Cracking Down on SAT Misuses, Including Its Own Handbook
• The ACT: A Different Test, Not a Better Test
• SAT Score Report: Fixation on Biased, Useless Test Results Undermines Educational Equity and Excellence
• “SAT/ACT Optional” Admissions Enhances Equity and Excellence At Growing Number of U.S. Colleges