Number two pencils may soon be a thing of the past for students applying to University of California (UC) schools, after UC President Richard Atkinson moved to eliminate the SAT I from the University's admission criteria last week. The announcement, made at the American Council on Education Conference, sent shock waves through public and private universities nationwide, but Tufts administrators say it will not affect the University's admissions policy.
Atkinson's proposal rests on the notion that standardized tests are often overemphasized in the application process and that the SAT I in particular does not directly relate to a student's program of study. Overemphasis on SAT I scores during admissions, Atkinson said, leads to a distorted education system where students, teachers, parents, and high school administrators focus almost exclusively on test performance and tend to neglect in-depth study of academic curricula.
But the Tufts administration does not perceive the alleged pernicious effects of the SAT I, viewing the test as a useful tool that, if employed properly, provides the admissions committee with a more comprehensive picture of an applicant, and enables admissions officers to make more informed decisions.
"Why would you eliminate a piece of information that would be very helpful to you?" Dean of Admissions David Cuttino said. "A grade is a symbol, and its meaning varies. We try to compare and understand students coming from different schools and in that context, testing helps," Cuttino said.
When reviewing applications, Tufts' Admissions Office first looks at the student's academic record contextually, measuring the student's grades against the difficulty of the program offered at his/her particular school. SAT I scores provide an additional point of reference by which the admissions committee can analyze the applicant.
According to Cuttino, Tufts is constantly looking to improve its admissions procedures and has evaluated how testing fits into the admissions equation. "But we've never considered eliminating [the SATs]," he said.
Provost Sol Gittleman also defended the SAT's role in the application process, "as long as it does not become the only benchmark." Would Tufts' pool of applicants change drastically if the University did not mandate the SAT I? Gittleman wasn't sure.
"I like the quality of applicants we have now," he said. "But I like the flute players too," he added jokingly.
Although about 300 American colleges and universities do not consider SAT I scores in their selection processes, UC is the first highly selective state institution to consider abolishing the standardized test.
One of Atkinson's primary motives behind the elimination of the SAT I is to make admission to the UC schools less dependant on economic status. In his speech, Atkinson said that black and Latino minorities often score lower on the SAT I because many of them attend public schools that do not offer specialized SAT preparation courses.
UC Student Regent Justin Fong said that eliminating the SATs will force UC to be more "critical and rigorous" in its selection process.
Many Tufts students do not fully support the UC proposal, and said that the SATs can be useful in a limited role.
"The SAT should still be used, but people place too much importance on it, and colleges do, too," sophomore Joe Tuggle said. "I think colleges should look more at grades."
But some prospective students and their families offered a different sentiment upon hearing the news from California. Often, students are disillusioned when their standardized test scores do not reflect their academic achievement.
One mother from Franklin, Mass. who was on a campus tour at Tufts shortly after Atkinson delivered his speech, criticized the standardized test: "My daughter is a smart little girl, but the tests are so hard they make her feel stupid," she said.
Based on acceptance numbers for the class of 2004, Tufts takes only one quarter of its total applicants. To select students, admissions officers look at four years of high school grades, SAT I or American College Testing (ACT) scores, three SAT II tests, teacher recommendations, essays, and often an interview conducted by an alumnus.
While the requirements at other US colleges are similar, the weight each university places on individual aspects of the application greatly varies. A number of universities exempt a handful of students, often athletes and other recruited applicants, from the SAT I requirement.
"Many schools, including Georgetown, Stanford, Harvard, and Duke, don't count SAT I scores for their Division I athletes," Gittleman said. "I think that's phony."
"Admissions committees at each university need to have the ability to put together the class they want to have," Cuttino said. "To reduce the amount of information in understanding the student's achievement... is unfortunate," he said of the UC proposal.
Schools like Middlebury College in Vermont offer applicants the option of sending their SAT I scores, but they are required to take either three SAT II's, three Advanced Placement (AP) tests, three International Baccalaureate (IB) tests, or a combination of the three test types.
"We believe in academic ability," Middlebury Director of Public and External Affairs Philip Benoit said. "If that happens to be achievement in a test combined with the student's academic record, then that's what we want to see."
Benoit said that although there are reasons to question the SAT I, there are also many reasons why it is a good tool for some institutions. Whether the SAT I is considered by a particular university is based on its particular experience, he said. "I wouldn't second guess the University of California at all in their decision."
Atkinson's proposal must be approved by the Academic Senate, the body that determines academic policy at the state level, and the UC Board of Regents. Though revisions to the proposal and final decisions could take up to a year, the majority of the members on the Board of Regents seems to be in favor of the change.
