Harvard vs. MIT on Testing

Harvard drops standardized test requirement for 2021

Laura Krantz and Deirdre Fernandes, Boston Globe,
6-15-2020

In a pivotal decision that will likely ripple across higher education, Harvard University announced on Monday that it will not require next year’s undergraduate applicants to submit standardized test scores. The decision comes amid fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and growing criticism that standardized test requirements unfairly penalize students of color.

...Harvard’s decision is temporary. The university has defended its admissions policy and its strategy to build a diverse student body in court. Last fall, a federal district court judge in Boston ruled in favor of Harvard’s race-conscious admissions policy, although opponents are looking to overturn that judgment on appeal. A Harvard spokeswoman on Monday tied the decision to COVID-19 and the difficulty the pandemic has created for students seeking to take the standardized tests. Students who do not submit a test will not be disadvantaged, she said.

...By the end of last year, 1,000 schools had made the tests optional, and another 200 have joined the movement this year, according to a master list his organization compiles. The list includes 85 percent of the top liberal arts colleges in the country, as rated by U.S. News and World Report, Schaeffer said.

...MIT has not changed its testing requirements but may choose to do so if an increasing number of students can’t take the standardized tests because of the pandemic, said Stuart Schmill, the dean of admissions and student financial services.

"That may come to pass, but at this point we are waiting to see how things develop in the fall, in the hope that there will be some abilities for students to take those tests," Schmill said. "But if they cannot, then we will adjust our policies and make decisions using the best information that we have in the rest of the application.”

Still, MIT stands behind the benefits of SAT and ACT test scores. These test scores are among many factors that MIT considers in admissions, Schmill has said.

“While we know these tests are not perfect, they do provide an informative and consistent measure of a student’s academic potential in a world where high school experiences vary so widely, and they allow us to admit students from across the country — and the globe — who we are confident will thrive and succeed at MIT," Schmill said in a blog post in March.

Full story at https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/06/15/metro/harvard-drops-standardized-test-requirement-2021/