By Justin Hsieh, News Editor
The debate over standardized testing in American education reached new heights last week, when lawyers representing three students and several organizations threatened to sue the University of California (UC) unless it ended its use of the SAT and ACT in its admissions process.
In a letter delivered to the UC Regents, the lawyers argued that using standardized test scores in college admissions violates the equal protection clause of the California state constitution as well as various sections of the state’s government, civil and educational codes by unfairly disadvantaging students “on the basis of race, disability, and wealth.”
“Our organizational clients represent diverse communities whose members have been historically marginalized and disparately impacted by the University of California’s adherence to the SAT and ACT gatekeeper entrance exams,” wrote the lawyers. “We write to demand that the University of California immediately stop this discriminatory practice… This is not a discretionary policy decision; it is a legal obligation, and it is urgent.”
The eight-page letter laid out a series of arguments against the use of the exams, including that they are minimally accurate predictors of academic success; that they are inherently biased against underrepresented minority students, multilingual students and students with disabilities; and that unequal access to exam preparation exacerbates discrimination.
While UC spokeswoman Claire Doan said the university system had no comment on the letter, representatives of both the ACT and the College Board released statements disputing the letter’s allegations and defending the integrity of their tests.
“The notion that the SAT is discriminatory is false,” said College Board spokesman Zachary Goldberg. “Any objective measure of student achievement will shine a light on inequalities in our education system. Our focus, with our members and partners, is combating these longstanding inequalities… Regrettably, this letter contains a number of false assertions and is counterproductive to the fact-based, data-driven discussion that students, parents and educators deserve.”
The letter to the UC Regents is the latest in a yearslong series of developments in the movement against standardized testing. In recent years, over 1000 colleges and universities, including the University of Chicago, have become test-optional – meaning they do not require applicants to submit ACT or SAT scores. In September 2018, the UC Academic Senate announced that it would be launching a study into the accuracy of the tests as predictors of college success. Doan said the university system will wait for the findings of the study, which will be released in February, before taking further action.
But for the lawyers behind this letter, these measures are not enough. The letter acknowledged the Senate study, but emphasized that the university system had a legal obligation to act regardless of the Senate’s recommendations. The authors requested a response within ten days, and demanded that the letter be placed on the agenda of the next Regents Meeting on Nov. 13 and 14. Mark Rosenbaum, a Public Counsel attorney and signatory to the letter, said that his clients wanted testing requirements not just to be optional, but to be eliminated entirely.
“‘SAT optional’ is no more acceptable than ‘racially discriminatory optional’,” Rosenbaum said.
Multiple studies have shown SAT and ACT scores to be significantly influenced by socioeconomic factors, as well as race. In April 2018, a major study of 28 four-year colleges and universities with test-optional policies found a stronger correlation between test scores and family income rather than academic success. A 2017 UC Berkeley study of SAT and ACT scores at the University of California had similar findings.
“More than a third of the variation in SAT/ACT scores is attributable to differences in socioeconomic circumstance,” the study found. “Meanwhile, the predictive value of the tests has declined with the advent of holistic review in UC admissions… After taking that information into account, SAT/ACT scores have become largely redundant and uniquely predict less than 2 percent of the variance in student performance at UC.”
The College Board and ACT, however, argue that their tests do predict college success and help colleges better evaluate applicants using a uniform metric. The organizations also say that they work with disadvantaged students to close achievement and access gaps by providing fee waivers and personalized practice tools.
“The ACT test is not discriminatory nor biased. We work diligently to make sure the test questions are not biased against any group of students,” said ACT spokesman Ed Colby. “ACT test results reflect inequities in access and quality of education, shining a light on where they exist. Blaming standardized tests for differences in educational quality and opportunities that exist will not improve educational outcomes.”
Students and teachers at Fountain Valley High School have mixed opinions on the subject. Some believe that, while the tests may be flawed, they are still necessary in the admissions process.
“I think that the SAT definitely has its problems, but in order to have a college admissions system that is fair to all students we need some sort of standardized testing that evens the playing field,” said junior Peter Sears. “So while it has its problems, I don’t think the solution is just to get rid of it flat out, but to change it in order to allow for more diversity.”
Others believe that the kind of categorical elimination demanded by the lawyers would be appropriate.
“I would be in favor [of eliminating the SAT and ACT],” said geography and US history teacher Julie Chaicharee. “I think there are so many other aspects of students that can’t be encompassed by a number. The SAT and ACT don’t measure a student’s intelligence and potential, they measure their ability to take a test. There does need to be some kind of baseline, but schools can use grades and so many other things for that.”
If the UC system did change or drop SAT/ACT requirements, it would have a significant impact on the state of standardized testing in higher education. The University of California is the largest public university system in the country and the largest market for the SAT and ACT.
