by Brandon Poulter
Another elite university in the U.S. has backtracked on its decision to eliminate standardized testing in admissions after years of following the practice.
Yale University announced Thursday that it would be instituting a “flexible testing policy,” which allows students to submit several different test scores for admissions, including ACT, SAT, International Baccalaureate, and Advanced Placement scores, according to a Yale website. The university said that after performing extensive research, they found that “test scores are the single greatest predictor of a student’s future.”
“Yale’s research from before and after the pandemic has consistently demonstrated that, among all application components, test scores are the single greatest predictor of a student’s future Yale grades. This is true even after controlling for family income and other demographic variables, and it is true for subject-based exams such as AP and IB, in addition to the ACT and SAT,” a webpage announcing the policy change reads.
https://twitter.com/Brandopinione/status/1760646980756291887?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Several other elite colleges, including Brown University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University, suspended their requirements for applicants to submit standardized test scores in the summer of 2020. Columbia University also suspended its standardized test scores submissions policy in the summer of 2020 and officially made the standard permanent in March 2023.
MIT reversed course on its policy in March 2022 and reinstated testing requirements and Dartmouth College also reversed course on its testing policy on Feb. 5.
“The evidence remains strong that standardized testing predicts college success. Since test scores tend to differ by identity group, many colleges used the pandemic disruption as an opportunity to forgo test requirements. Elite colleges may now find out that test requirements are important,” Adam Kissel, visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Education Policy, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Yale did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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Brandon Poulter is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Yale University Campus” by Yale University.
