Across the country and the world, schools look much different right now than they have at any other point in recent memory. Millions of students are finishing the school year from home, watching zoom lectures, meeting for group projects over Facetime, and as the year comes to a close, taking final exams online. This has presented a unique challenge for standardized testing as different organizations and districts have either opted out of standardized testing altogether this year, modified it like the College Board has done with Advanced Placement exams, or made it optional, like some universities have done for the SAT and ACT for students applying this upcoming year. But, like school at home, testing at home has presented unique challenges that showcase inequities that have been present in standardized testing for years, demonstrating that “standardized” doesn’t mean equal.
Inequities Prior to COVID-19
Inequity in standardized testing is not a new discussion. For example, one report published by the Brookings Institute in 2017 shows the racial gaps in SAT math scores. The article compared data provided by the College Board on the black-white split in SAT scores to a similar comparison made in 2005, showing a consistent gap between the scores. This ongoing concern highlights how little progress had been made since 2005 on the disparities in standardized testing.
A research study published in 2013 also found a substantial effect of family income on SAT performance, showing the innate disadvantage that coming from a lower-income family has on a child’s ability to succeed on standardized tests. From the ability to attend higher ranked high schools, access to tutors, ability to buy prep books, and a number of other factors, the exam that is supposed to help provide an equal playing field for applicants has been shown to do the opposite. These disparities in scores significantly limit the ability of many students to get into a college of their choice, hurting upward mobility and opportunities for these students.
AP Testing This Year
AP Tests officially ended last week, running from May 11 to May 22. Contrary to AP Exams in the past that were administered in schools for about three hours each, this year the modified exams were limited to only 45 minutes and were taken at home by students. However, like classes, trying to take an AP exam at home brings up a number of concerns because of the wide variety of conditions in which students are taking their exams.
A lawsuit has been brought against the College Board by students citing the spectrum of living arrangements as inherently discriminatory against lower-income students. While some students may have the recommended isolated, quiet space to take the test, this Bloomberg article highlighted how many lower-income students are living in tight conditions with multiple family members and may not have access to proper internet or a quiet place to take their exam. Additionally, they may have extra responsibilities such as working, taking care of siblings, or chores, that put them at a disadvantage compared to their peers. One student initially planned on taking her AP exams in a nearby parking lot since she didn’t have access to secure internet at home until her high school took things into their own hands to open up a classroom for her.
International Baccalaureate (IB Testing) This Year
The College Board reported that they continued with testing this year because that was what students wanted in order to receive credit. However, the IB program, often compared to the AP curriculum, did not agree and decided not to hold testing this year in order to be fair and considerate to all students and teachers. Instead, they are using a number of other data points collected throughout the year to assess each student and give them a score that they can use to obtain college credit.
These two approaches to holding standardized exams calls into question the need for and relevancy of these exams in the grand scheme of education. By canceling exams, the IB program illustrates that testing at home is unfair and that there alternatives to assessing students. This highlights just how inequitable students’ home circumstances are and how that can play into their performances on exams. These inequities have existed in the past and will extend beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
Standardized Testing Moving Forward
Currently, there are no SAT exams being administered, with the College Board officially cancelling the June testing date. The next available option to take the test is in August. As a result, several colleges have announced that for the Class of 2025 they will not require an SAT or ACT to be submitted due to these unforeseen circumstances preventing students from taking the test. However, schools like the University of California school system have gone a step further, saying they will no longer require the SAT or ACT and in 2025 will completely eliminate the exam. They join schools such as the University of Chicago, Wake Forest, and others that are “test optional” schools. In an article in the LA Times the Lt. Gov. of California, Eleni Kounalakis, called the University of California’s move “‘the beginning of the end’ for the SAT.”
Although the UC schools initially went test-optional for coronavirus, their move to being test-optional for the future opens the door to further conversations among colleges and universities to take into deeper consideration whether standardized tests are a fair metric to use to compare applicants. The disparities in the current climate have only helped to exacerbate these inequities and have brought standardized testing into the limelight as a means to perpetuating a system of inequality instead of equalizing it.
Do you think your college should go test-optional in the future? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments!
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