Why OU has chosen to keep test scores optional for admissions

So Long, Standardized Testing

Universities across the country decided to suspend ACT and SAT requirements at the beginning of the pandemic, but Ohio University’s test-optional pathway is here to stay.

BY ABBY NEFF | ILLUSTRATIONS BY BROOKE GARRETT

When the coronavirus pandemic started, Ohio University took swift action to alter campus instruction. Students moved out of their dorms, campus buildings were shut down and classes were moved to virtual instruction. One of the most significant changes made by the administration was the elimination of the standardized test score requirement for freshman applying to OU.

The initial announcement came in late June, when OU joined several universities in temporarily suspending the ACT and SAT test score requirement for freshman applying to their respective schools, including Harvard, Cornell and the University of Washington. Rob Callahan, the interim assistant vice president and director of undergraduate admissions at OU, says standardized test scores are less useful for predicting the success of prospective students. Rather, a student’s GPA and the rigor of the academic courses the individual took in high school are the two best indicators of an incoming freshman’s capabilities.

“So, a student who has a strong GPA, let’s say a three-plus or above, who’s exhausted the most rigorous curriculum available to them in their high school - those are the students that we know overtime, historically, tend to perform well in college level courses,” Callahan says. “While the assessments — the SAT and ACT scores — have some reliability, they’re less useful for predictable purposes.”

According to a study released in 2014 by the National Association for College Admission counseling, students who took advantage of the test-optional pathway at their respective institutions, identified as “non-submitters” by researchers, provided several benefits for the university overall, including an expansion of applicant pools, an increase in minority student enrollments and allowed for students with learning differences to succeed.

“The conversation around access is really important for Ohio University,” Callahan says. “And the assessments do create a barrier to the application process.”

OU has experienced a steady decline in enrollment since the fall semester of 2014, according to data provided by the university’s Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness. During the fall semester in 2019, there were 4,750 enrolled in the freshman cohort. In 2014, there were 5,374 students enrolled in that freshman class.

Callahan says the reasons why OU didn’t eliminate the test score requirement sooner are nuanced and complicated.

“Test scores impact selection processes for scholarships. They impact admission to more selective programs. They’re tied into national rankings. They’re tied into how we report to the state eligibility requirements and placement,” Callahan says. “So, there’s a lot of factors that are impacted.”

Although financial aid offices can use standardized test scores to determine scholarship awards, a student will not be impacted if they decide not to submit. Valerie Miller, the director of the office

of student financial aid and scholarships, says the primary scholarship program for freshman applicants is the “OHIO Excellence Awards” program.

“All admitted students receive full scholarship consideration, regardless of tests. In most cases, standardized test scores [ACT or SAT], if available, are considered only if doing so increases a student’s award eligibility,” Miller says.

The Department of Psychology at Columbia University published a study in 2003 that focused on students that are usually stereotyped — Black, Hispanic, low-income and female students — and their performance on standardized tests. The researchers found that this group performed better on standardized tests when they were encouraged to view their academic difficulties as an opportunity to grow, rather than a fixed attribute due to their identity. “Being evaluated in a stereotyped domain is sufficient to trigger the trademark responses associated with stereotype threat — lack of enjoyment of the educational process, increased anxiety and stress, and, ultimately, underperformance,” the study says.

McKenna Christy is an incoming freshman that didn’t submit a standardized test score when she applied to OU. She plans on studying journalism through the Innovation Scholars program.

“I just felt it wasn’t a reflection on my intellect, and I have always struggled taking tests and especially standardized tests, so I knew the ACT was going to be hard for me,” she says. “And I could just never get my score up to where I thought [it] was a good representation of my skills in classes and classrooms.”

Christy submitted other documents, like her transcripts, personal essay and activities, through Common App, a program that allows students to apply to more than 900 colleges worldwide. She says her high school has always placed pressure on students to study and perform well on the ACT and the SAT exams.

“I personally think [the test-optional pathway] is great, because I know when I was a sophomore and even a freshman, it was my number one stressor. It wasn’t even grades or my skillset. It was literally just the ACT,” Christy says. “And I felt that, at the time, I felt like I wouldn’t get in anywhere.”

For Callahan, the test-optional pathway has been an important policy change, both personally and professionally. He says he’s happy to see institutions across the country increasing opportunities for students that come from underrepresented populations, as well as areas that don’t have appropriate access to training for exam preparation. Callahan grew up in southeastern Ohio and was a firstgeneration college student.

“I joke because I’m still just a kid from the 740 ... I love — I really do appreciate the access component of our mission,” he says. b