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Many prestigious colleges have moved to a test-optional admissions process after testing cancellations during 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19. Yet, some colleges have remained test optional even after the impacted students enrolled in college. This standard includes every Ivy League university. 

This is the right decision.

Even though test scores are considered to be technically the most objective form of measuring intelligence, those who score well often share two similar traits:  race and class.

Out of a possible SAT score of 1600, Asian Americans averaged 1239; Whites, 1112; with Hispanics, 967, and African Americans, 934. Out of a possible ACT score of 36, Asian Americans averaged 24; Whites, 21; Hispanics, 18.3; and 16.3. 

Poverty rates for Hispanics and Blacks reached an all-time low in 2019.  Their rates are much more significant than their White and Asian peers. Class is the reason behind lower test scores, not race. 

According to the Washington Post, in 2014, “students from families earning more than $200,000 a year average a combined score of 1714, while students from families earning under $20,000 a year average a combined score of 1326.” 

A common argument for keeping test scores is that schools that are more prestigious and have more resources to help their students often have students who have higher grades, which gives these students a massive advantage for getting into top universities over students who do not have access to these schools, either because they live in a less wealthy district that puts less money into their public schools or because they cannot afford to attend an academically rigorous private school. 

Test scores divide students by race and class even more than grades. Test scores disadvantages aren’t exclusive to lower income schools like grades and extracurriculars often are. 

In a 2013 paper titled “Race, Poverty, and SAT Scores,” researchers Ezekiel J. Dixon-Roman from the University of Pennsylvania and John J. Mcardle from the University of Southern California found that wealthy students earn higher SAT scores compared to their low-income peers and that difference in SAT scores between high-and low-income students was twice as large among black students compared to white students. 

Students who attend the same school and have the same opportunities as their peers still test lower than students with a different household income and ethnicity. This is mainly due to three factors. 

The Cost Of The Test And The Commitment Of Taking The Test  

It costs $60 to take the ACT without the writing portion and $85 to take it with the writing portion.  On average, students take the test 2-3 times before settling on their score. 

The official ACT organization advertises taking the test multiple times and encourages it. The official ACT website says, “Retesting gives students a chance to adjust their study plan and tackle areas they want to improve.”

However, students who are in lower-income families cannot afford to take the test this many times, therefore giving them an unfair disadvantage over students who can afford to take the test multiple times.

Private Tutors 

Students who are taking the ACT dump hundreds of thousands of dollars and hours into tutors who specialize in ACT preparation work. Some tutors even have rates as high as $300 per hour. 

Students living in a lower class family cannot afford these tutors compared to students who live in an upper-class family. Also, on average, 59 percent of low-income students work 15 hours or more, so they would not even have time to attend private tutoring sessions in the first place.

Extended Time 

Getting “extended time” on tests such as the ACT and SAT can sometimes cost as much as $10,000, which is not a cost that lower-income households can afford. 

This means that students in lower-income households cannot access extra time even if they may need it. Still, students who come from high-income families will be able to receive the extended amount of time on tests that they need. 

Going through this process of gaining extended time is also a tedious, time-consuming process that working students and parents often don’t have time to go through.

Using the ACT and SAT as intelligence tests is flawed and much poorer than using grades to check intelligence because school is not a business. It is a place to learn. These testing organizations want to make money, so those who take the tests that have money benefit from them more.