The State University of New York will no longer require students to take either the SAT and ACT tests to apply to its four-year undergraduate colleges as enrollment declines.
The SUNY board of trustees unanimously scrapped the admission test requirement — for decades a rite of passage for high school students applying to colleges — during a meeting this week.
Like many other higher education institutions, SUNY, which boasts being the largest comprehensive public university system in the US with 64 campuses throughout the state, had temporarily suspended the standardized testing requirements from 2020 through the 2023 academic years, citing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But SUNY Chancellor John King said the use of SAT and ACT test results for admission purposes should be nixed indefinitely.
“It is recommended that the current authorization for campuses to suspend the undergraduate admissions requirement to submit SAT and ACT scores be continued prospectively, with flexibility maintained for campuses (students may still submit standardized test scores if available),” King said in a resolution that was submitted to the governing board.
“Maintaining a test-optional policy is consistent with national trends at peer institutions.”
A survey conducted last fall by the National Center for Fair & Open Testing found that more than 80% of US bachelor-degree granting colleges did not require students seeking fall 2023 admission to submit either ACT or SAT standardized exam scores.
The University of California system also will not consider ACT or SAT test scores for admissions decisions or the awarding of scholarships for any applicants.
“An overwhelming majority of undergraduate admissions offices now make selection decisions without relying on ACT/SAT results,” FairTest Executive Director Harry Feder said.
“These schools recognize that standardized test scores do not measure academic ‘merit.’ What they do assess quite accurately is family wealth, but that should not be the criteria for getting into college.”
Feder continued, “De-emphasizing standardized exam scores is a model that all of US education — from K-12 through graduate schools — should follow.”
Last month, New York’s Columbia University became the first ivy league school to make SAT and ACT tests optional for applicants.
SUNY’s enrollment has shrunk 20% over the last decade, though King did not cite the drop as a major factor in eliminating SAT-ACT scores for admissions.
He did say fewer New York State high school students are taking the SAT,” especially among historically underrepresented groups” — black and Latino students.
“Each SUNY campus will continue its longstanding commitment to a holistic review of student applications that includes grades, program of study, academic achievements, non-academic achievements, and other activities that allow for the evaluation of the potential success of a candidate for admission,” the chancellor said.