OPINION

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By Sarah Beth Neese

You are sitting in a room filled with several strangers—a room where you can smell the stress and anxiety from across the hall. While sitting at a desk, the same desk you will be sitting at for the next three hours, you anxiously wait, tapping a #2 pencil repeatedly against your leg. Finally, the clock strikes the top of the hour, and lying in front of you is a thick test booklet at the brink of being torn open. 

The SAT. And, in broader terms, the College Board. Both can be a student’s best friend or a student’s worst enemy. In my case, the SAT is my greatest enemy. 

The College Board was founded in 1899 by a group of 15 elite colleges and prep schools, but it wasn’t until 1900 that the College Entrance Examination Board was officially formed. The primary purpose of the College Board then was to standardize the admissions process and force New England schools to adopt a uniform curriculum. In addition to this, the College Boards states that they were formed “to expand access to higher education.” 

Today, the College Board is technically a non-profit organization. However, for a non-profit organization, Business Insider states, “the College Board makes an annual revenue of more than $750 million.” In 2013, as reported by The Washington Post, the president of the College Board made more than $1.3 million, as well as executive salaries ranging from $300,000 to $500,000. Despite what many may think, the College Board is not a monopoly. This is because of its most competitive and only rival, the ACT. Since both dominate the college testing industry, neither is truly a monopoly.  

Students taking the SAT at Phillips Academy, Andover, in 1955. Photo credit: Charles Schulze.

The SAT, created in 1926, was derived from an adaptation of an IQ test used to test the intelligence of US Army members. Before the SAT was created, colleges used their own versions of entrance tests, composed of different formats, questions, and subjects for each university. To fix the complexity and variety of tests, the College Board created a set of uniformed essay questions on subjects including English, French, German, Latin, history, Greek, mathematics, physics, and chemistry. In the late 1930s, all Ivy League schools began requiring all applicants to take the SAT as a scholarship test, which eventually turned into the schools requiring all applicants to take the SAT. The test continued to expand to colleges across the country, as The University of California system began requiring all applicants to take it in 1960. 

The SAT was first most dramatically changed in 2005 when longer passages, open-ended math questions, and calculators all became factors of the test. Additionally, in 2005, analogy-based questions were removed. The test added these components primarily to demonstrate a student’s ability to write and examine clear and concise passages. According to Peterson’s Test Prep, this concept is used “not only as a skill to be used in college courses but as one necessary for success in a wide range of careers.” In 2009, the College Board implemented a new policy that allowed students to submit their best test scores to the colleges they were applying to. Most recently, in 2016, the College Board again changed the SAT’s structure and scoring method. 

The formatting of the test has also undergone several changes. The original SAT in 1926 consisted of 315 questions with a 97-minute time limit. From 2005-2016, the test was scored on a 2400 point scale. Before 2005, the test was scored on a 1600 point scale. The 1600 point grading scale returned in 2016. Since 2016, the SAT has consisted of 154 questions with a 180-minute limit, with each section (English and math) worth 800 points each.

Despite its many alterations, the SAT has become a consistent factor in college admissions for more than fifty years. Collegiate’s Director of College Counseling Brian Leipheimer said, “standardized tests are a major component to college admissions… typically the second most important factor.” On nearly every university’s application, standardized test scores are labeled as “important” to the college admissions process, on a scale that ranks admission components from “most important” to “not considered.” Classified as “most important” would be a student’s GPA, combined with course rigor, as they show how a student will do over time and provide insight into whether or not a student can continue to increase their work ethic. Leipheimer shared, “Studies have shown over time that [standardized tests] are reasonable predictors of how students would perform in their first year of college.” 

Photo credit: Flickr user -nathan.

Standardized test scores usually are weighted more heavily in an application when a student’s GPA is not as strong or when the scores demonstrate a student performing significantly well. College Vine, a website that provides advice on college admissions, states, “Standardized test scores are given less weight in the application when other aspects of a student’s application become more compelling.” As a student who believes standardized tests are not one of my strengths, this factor benefits me in the admissions process. I feel that my GPA shows a better understanding of who I am as a student than my SAT scores do. 

The SAT is one of the main contributing factors in the admissions process. However, due to COVID-19 and testing centers being inaccessible for students, several colleges became “test-optional” in 2020 and have remained so this year. Universities became “test-optional” over the last two years, meaning that a student’s test scores do not factor into the school’s decision regarding admission. When asked about the relevancy of standardized tests recently in admissions due to COVID-19, Collegiate college counselor Erin Breese said, “Since the pandemic, testing requirements have changed, at least temporarily. Most schools in the last couple of years have been test-optional; however, the Georgia and Florida public systems, as well as Georgetown University, currently require testing.” 

Fair Test states that “more than half of US four-year colleges and universities are ACT-SAT optional for fall 2022 admission.” When asked if standardized testing was still crucial to college admissions, Leipheimer replied, “Two-thirds of colleges may be; however, many colleges are debating this question.” According to IvyWise, “More than more than 1,600 colleges and universities in the US are extending their test-optional policies through the 2021-22 application cycle, with some making the move to test-optional even longer or permanent. 72% of colleges and universities adopted test-optional policies last year….” Fair Test also states that “75% of four-year colleges and universities in the US are test-optional for the 2021-22 application cycle.” 

New questions are being raised regarding whether or not submitting test scores puts students at a disadvantage over students who don’t submit their scores. Despite some colleges saying that they value scores in some capacity and encouraging students to submit them if they already have them, 400 colleges and universities have confirmed that students will not be penalized for the absence of SAT or ACT scores with their applications. Due to the wide variety of schools’ policies regarding test scores, college admissions will become, if they are not already, highly unpredictable. Leipheimer adds, “There is so much uncertainty with how it will affect future classes.” 

After understanding the SAT’s history to its current situation involving COVID-19, it is important to take a step back. How does this all impact a high school student? Unfortunately, there is no single answer. The SAT can impact a student in several ways, whether because of the challenges presented by COVID-19 or the pressure added to an already stressful time in their life. In addition to these impacts, a student’s SAT score can also be impacted by their social status, economic status, and racial status. 

The bias presented within the SAT creates a stigma associated with the test. Both Breese and Leipheimer agree that there is bias surrounding the SAT. Leipheimer states, “Data overwhelmingly points to gaps and inequities.” According to a 2016 article in the New York Times, “On average historically, whites and Asians do better than blacks and Hispanics on the SAT; wealthier children do better than poorer ones; and boys do better than girls — slightly better in verbal skills and considerably better in math.” There are several different types of bias within the SAT, yet little is being done to solve this problem. Universities have taken this problem into their own hands, since the College Board has done little to address this issue. Gil Villanueva, Dean of Admission at the University of Richmond (and a parent of two Collegiate graduates), says, “Yes, I believe there is bias, and this is why progressive college admission offices like Richmond consider applicants’ test scores within the context of their respective student cohorts.”

One of the leading factors of bias presented in the SAT comes from test prep. Which demographic groups have access to test prep? How do families of lower economic status access test prep? These questions have been asked and are rarely addressed by the College Board, since people have been recognizing bias in the test for 20 years. The race gap on the SAT varies between which ethnic and racial communities have the resources to provide students with the materials necessary to prepare for the SAT. According to Brookings, “Among top scorers—those scoring between a 750 and 800—60 percent are Asian, and 33 percent are white, compared to 5 percent Latino and 2 percent black. Meanwhile, among those scoring between 300 and 350, 37 percent are Latino, 35 percent are black, 21 percent are white, and 6 percent are Asian.” There is a significant gap between the scores of white and Asian students compared to those of Latino and Black ethnicity. 

Similarly, in 2017, Brookings reported, “We estimate that in the entire country last year at most 2,200 black and 4,900 Latino test-takers scored above a 700. In comparison, roughly 48,000 whites and 52,800 Asians scored that high.” The racial bias present in SAT scores is a factor in the fairness of the SAT. 

From a socioeconomic status standpoint, bias is also displayed in SAT scores based on the level of income a student’s family receives. CNBC reports that “the lowest average scores were among students from families who make less than $20,000 in family income, while the highest averages were among students from families who make more than $200,000.” Students coming from wealthier families have an advantage because they have the resources to take the test multiple times and can often afford a tutor and test prep materials. 

Today, the College Board strives to “connect students to college success and opportunity,” as stated on their website. However, is it connecting students to success, or is it negatively affecting their college application? The College Board and SAT create several burdens not only upon students but also upon students’ families. One of these burdens is the financial aspect. The SAT and AP classes primarily make up this revenue. Currently, the standard cost of the SAT is $55. However, it is an additional $53 to be put on the waitlist for a test, as well as an additional $25 to reschedule the date of your test. The expenses only increase if one wishes to purchase the breakdown of their scores for $32. This alone is the cost of the SAT. 

“The College Board is advantaging those who do not necessarily need the advantage,” says Breese. The College Board’s solutions to these advantages include providing low-income families with fee waivers that cover the costs of two SATs and partnering with Khan Academy to provide free online test prep. However, the problem with this is that families with lower incomes may not know they qualify for waivers. Students who live in wealthier school districts or can afford to go to private schools have advantages in the college application and standardized test-taking processes. Leipheimer says, “We go to a school, and I work at a school where many people enjoy many economic privileges.” Access to extra time on tests is also an advantage for higher-income students. The Wall Street Journal found that students in affluent areas are most likely to get special academic accommodations, like extra time or a private space when taking exams.

So why do these biases exist? Leipheimer believes that a potential answer to this is how there is “already a big gap between the haves and the have-nots in college admissions. Now you see a bigger gap based on socioeconomic status.” Socratic Summer Academy states, “But the test itself, while certainly imperfect, is not the root cause of the problem. Rather, it is simply the most visible, measurable symptom of the systemic inequity that pervades college admissions and our entire K-12 education system.” The test itself is, in fact, a significant problem. There is adherent bias within the test because a student preparing for it learns strategies to prevent the test’s tricks and ultimately beat it. Collegiate student June Evins (‘23) says, “…the whole thing is a game, but not everyone learns the rules.” 

What does getting a perfect score on the SAT versus not doing well on it tell a college about a person? Villanueva says, “The SAT attempts to measure the amount of curricular information students have obtained and have been exposed to during high school. Prior to the pandemic, many selective colleges and universities considered standardized test scores as a good predictor of first-year college academic performance, particularly when coupled with grades in challenging courses.” In agreement with this, The University of California system states, “Test scores represent one of 14 factors in admission, and the test is used both to predict who will do well and, among students, who might most need additional support starting in their freshman year.” 

The SAT focuses on two aspects, math and reading, so how can colleges determine a student’s academic performance solely on a math score and a reading score? Several other aspects of a person make them valuable in the workforce and society other than their math and reading skills. Contrarily, when asked about how well the SAT demonstrates a student’s academic ability and their success over time in college, Leipheimer answered with, “Zero. Zippy.” Which, in my opinion, is precisely the answer it should be. There is no way for a college to fully understand how successful a student will be attending their university from one score testing their math and reading capabilities. So why make the SAT another component of an already challenging and extensive process?

From a student standpoint, the SAT is just another stressful factor of the college admission process. On top of performing well in their classes within the school, students are faced with preparing and doing well on the SAT. Evins and Lila Rogers (‘23) both agree on how the College Board and SAT should not be used in the admissions process. Rogers says, “The College Board is a total scam. It doesn’t measure how smart you are; it measures how good you are at the SAT.” Evins agrees, saying, “The system is rigged with the ability to perform better or look better to colleges just by using financial resources not everyone has. Making it unfair to those who cannot afford these advantages and to people who are unaware of these tricks to bypass the system.”