Changing value of a test score

University of California to go test-blind by 2023

Jack Hansen

The SAT is a high school experience almost as universal as prom or football games. However, due to COVID-19, it is becoming one of the many experiences that have been altered by the pandemic. The pandemic has hastened the move towards test-optional and test-blind college applications. The University of California (UC) schools were among the first major colleges to deprecate standardized tests.

Judge Brad Seligman ruled on Aug. 31 that the UC system would be allowed to remain test-optional until 2023, but after that, applications would have to be test-blind. Until 2023, applicants will not be required to submit standardized test scores on their applications. If applicants choose to not submit their scores, they will not be penalized. On the other hand, a test-blind selection process entirely eliminates standardized testing.

Many have criticized standardized tests before because of issues including the equality of the tests. COVID-19 strengthened these criticisms, creating greater barriers for students previously disadvantaged by the tests.

Criticisms of the test include its steep price, which may disadvantage lower-income students. Additional fees, many of which students are pressured into paying, quickly add up, making up a significant portion of the cost. These additional services may include something as simple as receiving your official test score one extra time. On top of this, colleges take students’ best scores, which gives students who can afford to take it several times an advantage.

“To be sure, COVID-19 has disrupted the testing process for many students. But the barriers faced by students with disabilities are indisputably significantly greater than those faced by non-disabled students,” Seligman wrote.

Although the test-blind policy will not go into effect until 2023, many UC schools have already gone test-blind due to both the court ruling and COVID-19. This new application process will change how students approach applications in the future.

Gay Buckland-Murray, the Carlmont instructional vice principal, believes that having a focused interest will be important for future students in addition to GPA and letters of recommendation.

“I don’t think the answer is going to be to load up on a ton of AP classes. I think the answer is going to be showing a transcript that has a common thread throughout it, that you obviously demonstrated a passion, [...] and you have an AP marking on your transcript that suggests that type of pathway-focused interest,” Buckland-Murray said.

Although removing standardized tests from the application process may provide a more holistic view of students, many students feel the change is too sudden. Currently, studying for standardized tests like the SAT consumes large amounts of time. As colleges shift away from standardized tests, other factors will be more important. Many students wish that they could have had more warning so they could focus on things like GPA and extracurriculars.

“I would have totally changed my approach. I would have focused more on things like my GPA and extracurriculars. I spent so much time studying for the SAT that could have been spent somewhere else,” said Brennan Dai, a senior.

Even though the change was sudden many, including Buckland-Murray, feel the change will provide a more complete view of applicants.

“I feel like a single number isn’t enough to determine whether a student can gain access to an institute of higher education. [...] I think this [test-blind] is a way of recognizing that talent and potential come in all different forms, and it enables students not to be reduced to a number,” Buckland-Murray said.

Unfairness in the SAT

1600 Score inequalities

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200 400 600 Asian White Hispanic/ Latino Black 0 Race/Ethnicity

An uneven number of students from various racial backgrounds take the test

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0 200 400 600 800 Graduate Degree Bachelor’s Degree Associate Degree High School Diploma No High School Diploma

Highest Level of Parental Education A student’s average score is a ected by their parent’s educational level

Cost discrimination $52 base test cost $68 essay test cost

Students may be forced to Asian White Hispanic/Latino Black African American$30 reschedule pay additional fees for tasks necessary to submit a score $53 waitlist fee

White Black African American$12 late score requests A student who is able to pay these fees is more likely to submit their score Source: College Board