There has long been a narrative that persistent gaps on standardized tests are due to racism. This narrative has been strengthened by the fact that actual racists have seized on these gaps to argue that various minorities really are stupid. See The Bell Curve. As a result, simply arguing for standardized tests being effective has long been seen by some as a sign that you are a racist.
This did not stop universities from using standardized testing for admissions. But during COVID, they couldn't do testing. So universities had to drop the tests. Administration quickly noticed that it is a lot easier to achieve diversity goals (that's the D in DEI) if you stop including data that makes disadvantaged minorities look worse.
Coming out of COVID, testing started again. Some universities, like MIT, immediately began requiring tests again. Others, like Harvard and Yale, became test optional - you could report it, but didn't have to. But the entire University of California system took the extreme of saying that you can't report your tests at all.
Test optional universities were forced to face the reality that the students who chose to report test results performed significantly better in class than those who didn't. Countering that, the lawsuit SFFA v. Harvard created pressure against race based admissions to achieve diversity goals. (Harvard lost that in 2023.) This strengthened the conflict between testing and diversity goals. And for those on the diversity side, made existing narratives about the tests being racist more appealing.
Universities have had different responses. For example Harvard reinstated test requirements in 2024. Yale still hasn't. And the UC system has doubled down on no tests allowed.
This is a frustration for my son because he scored in the top 1% on the SATs. He believes that he would have gotten into a better university if he was allowed to use his SAT score. When he arrived, upperclassmen were admitted due to tests, and his class wasn't. My son saw the difference in quality.
And so, surrounded by the narrative that the tests were racist, my son doubled down on, "The tests are fair, and the world in general would be better off if people like me received opportunity based on our actual potential to make good use of it."
There has long been a narrative that persistent gaps on standardized tests are due to racism. This narrative has been strengthened by the fact that actual racists have seized on these gaps to argue that various minorities really are stupid. See The Bell Curve. As a result, simply arguing for standardized tests being effective has long been seen by some as a sign that you are a racist.
This did not stop universities from using standardized testing for admissions. But during COVID, they couldn't do testing. So universities had to drop the tests. Administration quickly noticed that it is a lot easier to achieve diversity goals (that's the D in DEI) if you stop including data that makes disadvantaged minorities look worse.
Coming out of COVID, testing started again. Some universities, like MIT, immediately began requiring tests again. Others, like Harvard and Yale, became test optional - you could report it, but didn't have to. But the entire University of California system took the extreme of saying that you can't report your tests at all.
Test optional universities were forced to face the reality that the students who chose to report test results performed significantly better in class than those who didn't. Countering that, the lawsuit SFFA v. Harvard created pressure against race based admissions to achieve diversity goals. (Harvard lost that in 2023.) This strengthened the conflict between testing and diversity goals. And for those on the diversity side, made existing narratives about the tests being racist more appealing.
Universities have had different responses. For example Harvard reinstated test requirements in 2024. Yale still hasn't. And the UC system has doubled down on no tests allowed.
This is a frustration for my son because he scored in the top 1% on the SATs. He believes that he would have gotten into a better university if he was allowed to use his SAT score. When he arrived, upperclassmen were admitted due to tests, and his class wasn't. My son saw the difference in quality.
And so, surrounded by the narrative that the tests were racist, my son doubled down on, "The tests are fair, and the world in general would be better off if people like me received opportunity based on our actual potential to make good use of it."