Standardized testing returns to college admissions

 Standardized admissions exams are making a comeback:

Elite French university revives entrance exam to combat AI fears. Sciences Po reverses changes intended to make admissions more egalitarian, saying ChatGPT and private tutoring mean essays are no longer ‘objective’  by Maurício Alencar, Wednesday October 23 2024, 12.00pm BST, The Times 

"Sciences Po’s new director, Luis Vassy, said standardised testing would make admissions more “objective”, despite one of his predecessors, Frédéric Mion, dropping the exam in an attempt to make the process more accessible to poorer students who had to pay for travel into Paris to sit the test."

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Here's the story from the Harvard Gazzette (in April):

Harvard announces return to required testing. Leading researchers cite strong evidence that testing expands opportunity

"Students applying to Harvard College for fall 2025 admission will be required to submit standardized test scores, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences announced ... This new policy will be applied to the Class of 2029 admissions cycle and will be formally assessed at regular intervals. 

...

"“Standardized tests are a means for all students, regardless of their background and life experience, to provide information that is predictive of success in college and beyond,” she said. “Indeed, when students have the option of not submitting their test scores, they may choose to withhold information that, when interpreted by the admissions committee in the context of the local norms of their school, could have potentially helped their application. In short, more information, especially such strongly predictive information, is valuable for identifying talent from across the socioeconomic range.”

 

"In research published last year, Harvard Professors Raj Chetty and David J. Deming and co-author John N. Friedman used data from more than 400 institutions and about 3.5 million undergrads per year to better understand socioeconomic diversity and admissions. Standardized tests emerged as an important tool to identify promising students at less-well-resourced high schools, particularly when paired with other academic credentials.

 

“Critics correctly note that standardized tests are not an unbiased measure of students’ qualifications, as students from higher-income families often have greater access to test prep and other resources,” said Chetty, the William A. Ackman Professor of Public Economics and director of Opportunity Insights. “But the data reveal that other measures — recommendation letters, extracurriculars, essays — are even more prone to such biases. Considering standardized test scores is likely to make the admissions process at Harvard more meritocratic while increasing socioeconomic diversity."