Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and many SAT and ACT tests being cancelled, colleges across the country are no longer requiring standardized test scores for college admissions. Even before the pandemic, some colleges were not requiring the test scores because of growing concerns of whether standardized tests were good measures of whether a student should be admitted into a college. After the COVID-19 pandemic ends, colleges should continue to not require the SAT and the ACT to be eligible for admissions.

The SAT and ACT are inequitable because of the immense costs that students can incur from taking either test. Because of the great amount of studying and the pressure to do well on standardized tests, many students choose to pay for expensive programs, study guides, and tutors to get a good score on the test. 

Taking either test costs a sum of money that some students can’t pay for ($64.50 for the SAT with Essay and $62.5o for the ACT with a Writing Assessment). Students who have a greater economic status are at an advantage for taking standardized tests because they can afford more resources to prepare for the exams. They can also afford to take the test(s) multiple times to receive a higher score.

One of the largest arguments from proponents of taking standardized tests is that standardized tests are great predictors of whether a student will graduate from college or not. However, a study published in 2018 found that at some institutions, those that decided to not submit standardized test scores graduated at higher rates than those who did submit their scores.

The same study also found that the test-optional colleges saw an increase in diversity, with more black and latino students applying and being accepted into the institutions. Overall, there was a 29 percent increase in the number of applicants at private, test-optional institutions, and an 11 percent increase at public, test-optional institutions.

Additionally, studies show that a student’s GPA is a better predictor of whether they will graduate college than the SAT or ACT. A student’s GPA actually represents how well the student does academically in class, while a standardized test score only tells others how well the student can take tests.

Students who retake the SAT or ACT often receive much higher scores, which is very disconcerting since it means that students are really being tested on how well they can cram for the test instead of their actual aptitude.

Higher education institutions should remain test-optional, even after the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure that there is no bias towards those with higher economic status and that there is a greater amount of diversity within colleges.