SAT and ACT scores fall to a historical low !!!

I'm not advocating for a Test Blind policy in 2022, I said in hindsight it would have been better during the pandemic to have had a Test Blind policy. That period is over.

Ohhh, sorry I misread when you wrote "in hindsight"

I completely agree with having a Test Blind policy during the pandemic, it would've made more sense considering how 'messy' online school was.

@AdithyaU06 If I wasn't clear, re-read this "In hindsight, it would have been better for all colleges to completely ignore SAT and ACT test scores until the pandemic was officially over and everyone had returned to in-class learning and made up the difference in their learning loss. A Test Blind policy would have been better than a Test-Optional policy across the board. " That period is over.

I understand, and that makes sense. I misread a bit. I would probably consider the period to be just the class of 2021-2, however.

@Slyvester taking either multiple times or once has nothing to do with the CollegeBoard or Act.org stats. What the lower composite SAT and ACT test scores averages mean is that each time 1 million kids sign up and take either test the scores are lower, not in a super-scoring environment.

I was trying to say that since scores are now test optional people are getting lower scores becuase they are not putting in the same effort to get higher scores. If your a student applying to a testblind/test optional school, you might not prep as hard as if it was required. I think this is a factor. I do agree with learning loss at public schools, as i attend a title one school that is 70% minority and have seen the disadvantages myself. Half the juniors at our school have not finished learning the math they need for the psat when they take it in october.

Yes. I see your point about this and agree.

I agree that while school was messy during the pandemic, and now that it's over it's easy to say what would have made it better, but have you thought about what would've happened if colleges went test-blind? Suddenly the most solid, most qualitative piece of evidence of a student's education, is gone. Colleges everywhere would have to completely scrap application processes and lower expectations. Yes, test scores fell and that wasn't completely the student's fault. However, the pandemic affected EVERYBODY. The drop isn't on an uneven demographic, and if people still got high scores, that just proves their dedication. Everybody was on a level playing field. Yes, it wasn't fun. Yes, it's over, but I think that since it was a global disaster, the only reason to go test-blind would have been if it had benefited the COLLEGES, who would be left pretty much in the dark about prospective students.

@AimForTheStars Standardized tests like the SAT or ACT are not accurate proxies for intelligence nor are they good future indicators of how well a prospective student will perform at college. Let's cut to the ugly truth which is to say they are used as holistic gatekeeping took that cuts both ways to justify accepting certain applicants and denying others. For the naturally gifted geniuses that get a 1550+ or 35+ the first time they take the test, I'm 100% certain that the rest of their academic narrative is enough to qualify them for any college of their choice without a test score. For the grinders that spend 250+ hours getting their super-score up above 1500 or 34 after taking the test 3, 4, or 5 times, their success is a simple function of having the time, money, and resources to do test prep, and take practice tests. If someone gets a 1200 or 25 on their first attempt and then can get a 1500 or 34 by their 3 or 5th attempt, how is this "the most qualitative evidence of a student's education"? It is not. What this is evidence of is that the SAT and ACT can be gamed if you have the time, money, and resources to game them. It's not different than getting a high score on a video game. Put 250 hours into it and you will get a high score. What test optional means for most colleges these days is that they do not have to abide by any score cut-off. They can simply make up the rules as they go, reward or ding anyone they want. This is not a good thing. This is a disaster, especially for poor, marginalized persons of color. They have no ability to game standardized tests.

You're fighting saying it's unfair to use the ACT and SAT. I'm just saying that going test-blind during the pandemic might not have been a good option for all colleges and that I just think it's a little bit presumptuous to think you can make monumental decisions for international institutions faced with undeniably hard times.

Sorry if that came out rude. I do find your ideas and input interesting.

What international institutions that were using the SAT and ACT as admissions criteria faced hard times during the pandemic?

College Board, for one. They're in charge of SAT, and one of their administrators was telling me about what he did and mentioned that ever since the pandemic, it's been harder to make the SAT something that international transfer students can do. Since the SAT and/or ACT are the staples of an American college, foreign students, governments, and academies want to be able to take them to get into a good American school. Then too, one must consider the colleges themselves, especially ones that have international campuses, like NYU Hong Kong Campus, or colleges that operate with the same standards across borders like the Prague University of arts. Education really suffered through COVID-19, and suddenly grades were all over the place. "Suddenly, you couldn't judge a book by its cover OR the pages inside. You have to read in between the lines, and that's a whole lot harder with fewer words to go by."( That's a quote from K. D., a former dean of admissions and college advisor who's helping my school with Texas university admissions)