Dartmouth College announced it will reinstate its requirement for undergraduate applicants to submit their ACT or SAT scores. The policy will take effect for students of the class of 2029, which means it will affect college applicants beginning in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to CBS<\/a>, Dartmouth has been \u201ctest-optional\u201d since 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic made taking or retaking the ACT and SAT tests difficult. Dartmouth said that the tests and the time it took to prepare for them were \u201cnot good uses of a student\u2019s time, money, or emotional energy during an ongoing public health crisis,\u201d per CBS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hundreds of colleges and universities across the country took similar action during the pandemic. Yale, several colleges at Cornell University, the University of California and more, went \u201ctest-optional\u201d or \u201ctest-blind\u201d for undergraduate admissions, per NBC News.<\/a> Because of the change in requirements, students with lower ACT and SAT scores applied to places they wouldn\u2019t have otherwise. Subsequently, many of these universities and colleges, such as Cornell<\/a>, saw massive bumps in applications, per NBC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a statement,<\/a> Dartmouth said they decided to reinstate the testing requirement based on new research conducted on the effects of standardized testing. A study commissioned by the college and conducted by economists and educational sociologists at Dartmouth found that \u201cstandardized testing\u2014when assessed using the local norms at a student\u2019s high school\u2014is a valuable element of Dartmouth\u2019s undergraduate application.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The study found that standardized test scores, in tandem with an evaluation of high school grades, were the \u201cmost reliable indicators for success\u201d for prospective students, per the statement.<\/a> Dartmouth also said that in addition to being good indicators for success, evaluating ACT and SAT scores also helped them identify better-suited students across a wider range of applicants, including those from low or middle classes, first generation students, students from rural areas, and students from under-resourced schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Per the statement,<\/a> Dartmouth said, \u201ccontrary to what some have perceived, standardized testing allows us to admit a broader and more diverse range of students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dartmouth is not the first college to bring back a requirement to submit standardized test scores. MIT announced in 2022 that it would reinstate the requirement for admissions. Dean of Admissions Stu Schmill said that at MIT student success \u201cis significantly improved by considering standardized testing,\u201d according to CBS News.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Many other top institutions around the country are also evaluating their standardized testing policies. Per Forbes,<\/a> Princeton University \u201ccontinues to assess the effects the pandemic has had on teaching and learning in secondary schools in the United States and around the world … (and) the role standardized testing should play in our admission process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Utah, colleges and universities have varying policies on standardized test scores.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhy is Dartmouth bringing back the requirement?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Will other colleges reinstate standardized testing requirements?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Where do Utah colleges and universities stand?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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