UW-Madison makes ACT and SAT optional
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has joined all other UW colleges in waiving its test score requirements for fall 2021 admission as students nationwide struggle to access the ACT and SAT during the pandemic.
UW-Madison held out on making the change for fall 2020 freshman, telling the UW Board of Regents earlier this year its incoming class was set as most students took their tests before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Wisconsin.
But now, nationwide challenges in accessing the test have pushed the university to change expectations for students who will start applying this fall.
Students can still send in scores if they want to, but not doing so won’t put applicants at a disadvantage.
In June, the College Board, which administers the SAT and Advanced Placement tests, asked colleges to be flexible in their admissions criteria. Millions were unable to take the SAT as the College Board canceled testing dates last spring and later abandoned plans to create an at-home version of the test.
“This is a necessary decision to ensure that our admissions process remains equitable, and to reduce some of the anxiety we know prospective applicants are feeling during this difficult time by moving to a test-optional approach this fall,” Derek Kindle, UWMadison’s vice provost for enrollment management, said in a statement.
UW-Madison’s director of admissions and recruitment, Andre Phillips, said the university is ready for the temporary change given the admissions process “has always considered the whole student, not just a test score.” University researchers will also study how the test-optional policy impacts the admissions process and the makeup of the incoming class.”
A small but growing number of Wisconsin schools have permanently done away with requiring test scores. Some admissions officers argue the ACT and SAT are not the best determinants of college readiness and instead limit college access for underrepresented students. Last June, Marquette University became the largest Wisconsin university to go test-optional.
Nationally, some higher education observers and advocates against test score requirements say the pandemic could push more colleges and universities in that direction permanently, as it widens opportunity gaps between students who have privileges like reliable internet, tutoring and a quiet, safe space to study, and those who do not.