2008 Woodie Awards
Flexibility in college admission requirements an A-plus idea
Issue date: 10/9/08 Section: Opinion
A recent report commissioned by the National Association for College Admission Counseling recommends that colleges consider admitting students without the use of scores from standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT. The commission, which included Harvard Admissions Dean William Fitzsimmons as well as several other college admissions officials and high school counselors, proposes that universities instead put more faith in exams that test students on their knowledge of high school curriculum subjects, such as the SAT subject tests and Advanced Placement exams.
The College Board, which owns the SAT, issued a statement defending its admissions exam as fair, noting that scores on the SAT, along with secondary school transcripts, are strong predictors of college success.
But many counselors believe that standardized tests cannot fully represent a student's abilities, if only because many people just don't test well.
"I cannot tell you how many students I have worked with who are amazing in their classes but freeze when it comes to the SAT or ACT because they know how much is riding on the scores," Patricia Mucenski, a counselor at Lisbon High School in Maine, told the Associated Press.
However, with documented grade inflation on the rise in secondary schools, high school transcripts are not enough to prove a student's abilities. Some form of standardized testing is necessary to keep college admissions offices from getting bogged down in innumerable and varying forms of evaluation.
While standardized test scores are still a requirement for those seeking admission to PSU, students have a number of ways to meet admission requirements. Students can be admitted if they have an ACT composite score of 21, if they rank in the top third of their high school graduating class, if they complete a standardized pre-college curriculum with at least a 2.0 GPA or if they have 24 or more transferable college credit hours with at least a 2.0 GPA.
PSU's admission policies won't put us in the Ivy League, but the fact that this school is capable of being flexible opens it up to student diversity and offers opportunities for individuals who don't shine as test takers.
As the university grows and the student body expands, we hope that the school can find a way to maintain this flexibility. It's a compromise that satisfies us at the Collegio, as we're well aware that even the best and brightest students can't be boiled down, quantified and qualified with a number.
The College Board, which owns the SAT, issued a statement defending its admissions exam as fair, noting that scores on the SAT, along with secondary school transcripts, are strong predictors of college success.
But many counselors believe that standardized tests cannot fully represent a student's abilities, if only because many people just don't test well.
"I cannot tell you how many students I have worked with who are amazing in their classes but freeze when it comes to the SAT or ACT because they know how much is riding on the scores," Patricia Mucenski, a counselor at Lisbon High School in Maine, told the Associated Press.
However, with documented grade inflation on the rise in secondary schools, high school transcripts are not enough to prove a student's abilities. Some form of standardized testing is necessary to keep college admissions offices from getting bogged down in innumerable and varying forms of evaluation.
While standardized test scores are still a requirement for those seeking admission to PSU, students have a number of ways to meet admission requirements. Students can be admitted if they have an ACT composite score of 21, if they rank in the top third of their high school graduating class, if they complete a standardized pre-college curriculum with at least a 2.0 GPA or if they have 24 or more transferable college credit hours with at least a 2.0 GPA.
PSU's admission policies won't put us in the Ivy League, but the fact that this school is capable of being flexible opens it up to student diversity and offers opportunities for individuals who don't shine as test takers.
As the university grows and the student body expands, we hope that the school can find a way to maintain this flexibility. It's a compromise that satisfies us at the Collegio, as we're well aware that even the best and brightest students can't be boiled down, quantified and qualified with a number.
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