CURRENT TRENDS IN THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS PROCESS

1. CURRENT TRENDS IN THECOLLEGE ADMISSIONS PROCESS Presenters: Team Insight 8

2. COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMS • Historically used as one component of the college admissions process • One means of determining admissions into higher education • Intended to be one indicator of possible student success in a college setting • Most common college entrance exams: Undergraduate: - SAT reasoning test - ACT Graduate: - Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

3. History of College Entrance Examsin Higher Education Admissions • The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) • Created in the early 1900s • First college entrance exam used as part of the college admissions process • Modeled after the Army Alpha test used during WWI • SAT popularity continued to grow during the following decades after it was created • Original SAT was modified and altered into the SAT-I: reasoning tests, and the SAT-II: subject tests

4. History of College Entrance Examsin Higher Education Admissions, cont. • The ACT was created in the 1950’s as an alternate college entrance exam to the SAT • Today, both the SAT and the ACT are still very prevalent in college admissions, • In recent years these exams have been criticized, especially the SAT • As a result, many academic institutions have begun a “test-optional” policy as part of the admissions process • Therefore, SAT and ACT scores are no longer mandatory for admissions into some institutions

5. COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAM SCORES • Entrance exams have also been seen as an excellent predictor of competency in a particular area of study. • Useful in determining any deficiencies that an individual has in his/her education. • It is become questionable whether or not college entrance exams can predict a person future academic success. • There are discrepancies in peoples ability to take multiple choice, essay, and timed tests that could effect a entrance exam score.

6. COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAM SCORES, cont. • College entrance exam scores are used to standardize students performance measures • Recently, the reliability and validity of college entrance exams have been questioned • Recent research has shown other variables influence to be additional indicators of college success

7. Additional Issues withCollege Entrance Exam Scores • Score on entrance exams differ between populations: • Cultural differences • Gender differences • The test population that was used to determine the appropriate cut off scores does not represent equally all groups of people (e.g race). • Cut-off scores

8. CURRENT COLLEGE ADMISSIONS TRENDS • Not all undergraduate admission offices accurately report a full and honest SAT average • Less than 10 percent of the overall ranking score, a study of the rankings determined that average student SAT score is by far the greatest factor in determining institutional rank • SAT scores for non-submitters average 100-150 points lower than submitters. • Eliminating those scores for 25 percent to 50 percent of enrolling students results in manufactured SAT average increases between 25 and 75 points.

9. ETHICAL ISSUES • The requirement of college entrance exam score inclusion • Exclusion from enrollment based on marketing practices only • Practice of not counting certain freshman profiles for fear of lowering modal test scores

10. TEST-OPTIONAL ADMISSIONS • Richard Atkinson influenced the test optional movement in 2001 • Impacted many liberal arts admissions • Bates Study • SAT scores didn’t predict the student’s GPA • Increase in applications from 1984: 2,500. In 2008: 5,300 applications. (Behind the SAT-Optional Movement: Context and Controversy) • Disproportionate use of non-submitters: women, people of color, & international students

11. TEST OPTIONAL ADMISSIONS, cont. • Providence College Study • Applications increased by 12%, acceptance rate decreased to 42%, applicants of color increased by 17%, and first-generation applications increased by 21% • Dr. Scott: “Publicly available and privately shared data reveal that SAT scores for non-submitters average 100-150 points lower than submitters...” • From these studies, one can conclude that GPA has more value and a better influence on the prediction of grades than the SAT does.

12. SUBSTITUTE ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES • GPA • Writing skills • Interview skills • Relevant experience • Paid employment • Extracurricular • Volunteer work • Organizational membership

13. SUMMARY • College entrance exams have been used for over a decade as part of the college admissions process • Recently, test-optional admissions has become increasingly popular in higher education • Numerous political and financial factors influence this shift • Ethical issues • Substitute assessment procedures

14. CASE STUDY • Duright College, a conservative, private, liberal arts college in the northeastern United States, has a long tradition of requiring the SAT as part of their admissions process. Recently, a large growing body of empirical evidence has indicated SAT scores to NOT be a good, consistent predictor of college success. In addition, a growing number of higher education institutions across the country (and internationally) are shifting to a test optional admissions format and therefore, no longer requiring standardized test scores as part of the college admissions process. A major reason for the trend to test optional admissions is the accumulating evidence that SAT scores has historically been shown to have rather low predictive reliability, ultimately, not being a good indicator of college success (e.g., GPA, graduation rates, etc). Furthermore, critics of standardized testing, in general, claim that applicants’ personal characteristics, such as proficient social skills, work ethic and discipline, to name a few, are difficult and/or impossible to measure using standardized testing procedures alone.

15. CASE STUDY, cont. • To further complicate the issue, additional empirical evidence has shown the SAT and other standardized tests, such as the ACT, to often be culturally biased and place many minority populations at a disadvantage when standardized tests are required as part of the college admissions process. Despite these issues, in an effort to keep the “good ol boy” tradition and exclusivity of the college intact, Duright College (at least for the time being), is adamantly opposed to test optional admissions. You are the director of admissions at Duright College and are very knowledgeable of these issues. You also have access to countless research studies discussing the current validity and reliability issues involved in standardized tests, as well as the implications for test optional admissions in higher education. All things considered, as director of admissions, do you have an ethical obligation to inform and attempt to persuade key administrators and faculty at Duright College about the possibility of test optional admissions? Why or why not? Also, should you “stir the pot” and or plan to keep the current admissions policy at the college as it is? What course of action would you take?