Sat Wars: The Case for Test-Optional College Admissions

SAT WARS: THE CASE FOR TEST-OPTIONAL COLLEGE ADMISSIONS EDITED BY JOSEPH A. SOARES TEACHERS COLLEGE PRESS 2012; 226 PP.Reviewed by David 5. Williams IIOver the years there has been considerable debate about the use of sat scores in the college admissions process (Groux 2012, Jaschik 2009, Strauss 2012). Due to the alleged biases inherent in the sat and the test s limited ability to predict student success, many institutions are moving toward a test-optional model in which students may but are not required to submit standardized test scores with their applications (Groux 2012, Ochoa 2013). In the midst of this timely debate, the contributing authors to SAT Wars provide an in-depth perspective on how standardized testing has evolved, its biases, and the transition to and evaluation of test-optional admissions policies. This book review summarizes the main points of each chapter, assesses the books major strengths and limitations, and analyzes the ways in which the book contributes to the discussion about standardized testing and admissions.The main objective of SAT Wars is to inspire admissions professionals to rethink how standardized tests such as the sat and act are utilized in admissions and the extent to which their institutions should consider adopting test-optional policies. According to the editor, too much weight has been placed on tests that are alleged to be inherently biased against minority and low-income students. The chapters are organized so as to frame the reader's understanding of the history of standardized testing, the alleged biases of the current sat and act, and the burgeoning and evaluation of test-optional admissions policies. The early chapters' broad perspectives on testing dovetail nicely into the institutional case studies on the sat's ability to predict student success and on test-optional policies.The four chapters that comprise the book's first section provide an overview and history of admissions and testing. The first chapter highlights the various admissions preferences that weight privilege over ability. For example, the author highlights admissions preferences for legacy students, students connected with possible donors, athletes, children of faculty and staff, and the wealthy. The author of the first chapter contends that the sat can be a counterweight to privilege and asserts that the good SAT score of a minority applicant from a low-performing school should elicit strong consideration of his or her academic potential whereas the poor score of a legacy or wealthy applicant might indicate the prospective student's lack of academic seriousness and/or ability. Although the author's claims are not supported empirically, they are supported by the literature.The author of the second chapter provides a historical account of the evolution of the SAT: Since its inception, the sat was designed to ascertain a student's aptitude or ability for learning. Despite the current rebuttal against the sat, the author indicates that if the sat truly helped measure prospective college students' aptitude for learning, then applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds could be identified for admission, thereby helping to in- crease access to and equity in higher education. However, the author reports that the SAT evolved from measuring test takers' aptitude for learning to assessing their general analytic ability. The author also indicates that toward the end of the 20th century, critics began to realize the sat's shortcomings-particularly in regard to its biases against minority and low-income applicants. This claim is supported by the literature (Freedle 2003, Soares 2007). In addition to these shortcomings, the sat was also found to be a relatively poor predictor of student success in college. In an effort to address these issues, the Educational Testing Service (ets) introduced the new sat in 2005. However, the author alleges that the test's new format did little to redress the previous shortcomings and in fact was found not to be aligned with the K-12 curriculum. …