UH will offer test-optional entry through summer 2022
Standardized test scores will be optional for all University of Houston System students through summer 2022.
COVID-19 forced officials to cancel testing dates and close testing sites for the SAT and ACT, according to a UH release.
Even though standardized tests have been an “important metric for admissions, “this is a time that requires all of us to be flexible and creative,” Paula Myrick Short, the UH system’s senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, said in a written statement.
The new rule will allow 2020 and 2021 high school graduates — many of whom would take their tests in fall semesters — the chance to decide whether they want to be test optional, said Mara Affre, associate vice chancellor for enrollment services. The hope is to alleviate stress and concern for students, she said.
Along with the UH System’s four schools, which include the UH flagship, UH-Downtown, UH-Clear Lake and UH-Victoria, Houston area schools like Texas Southern University and Rice University also adopted test optional admissions for this year in hopes of helping students who might not have the ability to take the tests.
With cases of the novel coronavirus still surging, many colleges are extending test-optional admissions beyond the 2020 academic year for prospective students. Among them, Baylor University, Texas A&M University, the University of Texas at Austin and Houston Baptist University will offer test-optional admissions through fall 2021.
The UH System, which will be
test optional through 2022, will continue to automatically admit Texas students who graduate in top of their Texas high school class. In lieu of test scores, additional admissions criteria has been created for students applying to any of the four system universities. A student applicant’s high school grade point average will be considered, and they’ll have to participate in the university’s “holistic review” of their overall academic profile and experiences. Those who do not meet the required GPA will be asked to complete essays and a resume highlighting special talents, honors, work, volunteer and family responsibilities as a part of the review.
“There isn’t just one thing we will assess, it will be all of these pieces combined,” Affre said.
SAT or ACT scores submitted from junior or senior years of high school will be accepted from those who still choose to submit their scores. As for graduate students, programs will individually dictate the use standardized tests for admissions. More information is available on the universities’ individual websites.
Affre said a small portion of students took advantage of the testoptional admissions this year, but a majority of applicants had already taken their tests.
If adopted, UH System would join the University of St. Thomas in Houston, which announced its test-optional admissions in 2019 in the hope of making the process more accessible to students.
Such an approach is best for students who don’t test well on standardized admissions exams, but earn higher GPAs, said Arthur Ortiz, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management.
“UST realizes that standardized test scores alone do not capture someone’s ability to do well in college,” Ortiz said.