The state of Illinois has joined Colorado in passing legislation that requires its public universities to permit students to choose whether they submit ACT and SAT scores when applying to public colleges and universities in the state.
The Higher Education Fair Admissions Act, which applies to all public universities and community colleges in Illinois, states that those institutions “may not require applicants who are residents of the State of Illinois to submit standardized test scores to the institution as a part of the admissions process, and the submission of standardized test scores to the institution shall be at the option of the applicant.”
The measure was signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker on Friday. It was sponsored by State Senator Christopher Belt (D-Swansea) and house sponsor LaToya Greenwood (D-East St. Louis). It received overwhelming support in the legislature, passing 109-8 in the House and 45-9 in the Senate. It goes into effect on January 1, 2022.
“Standardized tests are not what universities need to rely on when accepting students,” Belt said. “This necessary transition away from test scores will benefit those students who have the capability to be accepted into Illinois’ universities, but may struggle with test anxieties.”
Colorado passed similar legislation in May, adding momentum to the movement away from the use of standardized tests in college admissions that has been sweeping the country.
According to FairTest, the national organization that’s led the fight to eliminate admission test requirements in college admissions, the number of U.S. four-year colleges and universities not requiring submission of ACT/SAT scores now exceeds 1,500 schools, totaling about 65% of all bachelor-degree institutions in the United States. An updated list of ACT/SAT-optional and test-blind schools as of June, 2021 can be found here.
“Every week, more admissions offices announce that they will remain test-optional at least through the fall 2022 admissions cycle. Many are lifting ACT/SAT submission requirements for multiple years to come.” said FairTest Executive Director Bob Schaeffer.
Hundreds of colleges and universities went to test-optional or test-blind admission procedures during the Covid-19 pandemic, recognizing the practical difficulties students faced taking the exams. But an increasing number are now deciding to extend that policy - in some cases permanently. “Test-optional and test-blind/score-free policies have become the ‘new normal’ in undergraduate admission,” Schaeffer added. “Higher education leaders recognize that removing ACT/SAT requirements promotes both academic excellence and equity.”
The trend has also been advanced by studies that show that colleges that use test-optional admissions see at least modest increases in applications from and enrollment of racial and ethnic minority applicants, low-income students and women. Although some research suggests that students admitted without exam scores perform in college as well as those who submit test results, the overall evidence is more mixed than either test proponents or opponents typically acknowledge.
“When it comes to admissions, we need to look at the larger picture of a student’s academic career, not just how they filled out bubbles on a single Saturday,” Representative Greenwood said. “The ACT and SAT can serve as a barrier to college for students from underprivileged backgrounds, with a correlation between household income and test success. Over-reliance on these test scores can reduce the number of otherwise qualified applicants at our universities.”
Although the sessions of most state legislatures have concluded for this year, look for more bills mandating test-blind admissions procedures to be introduced next year. They’re a rare example of an education policy likely to garner bipartisan support.
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July 11, 2021 at 05:00PM
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Illinois Passes Law Requiring Its Public Universities To Use Test Optional Admissions - Forbes
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