S-A-T is O-U-T

Bates College, in Maine, released the findings of a 20-year study of its SAT-optional admissions policy at the end of last month. In 1984, the college stopped requiring applicants to submit SAT scores. Two decades later, Bates' study shows very few differences between students who submitted their scores and those who didn't. For example, the overall grade point average of those who submitted scores was 3.11. Those who didn't submit scores averaged 3.06. Graduation rates for the two groups differed by only 1 percent.\nAre we subtly suggesting that IU dump the SAT Admissions requirement and rush to join the other 380 U.S. colleges and universities with similar policies? \nNot really. \nWe're just giving Bates a pat on the back and, maybe, just maybe, giving the University a nudge in the "SAT-optional admissions" direction.\nSince Bates initiated the SAT-optional policy in 1984, the college's applicant pool has doubled. In fact, about a third of those who apply to the college every year choose not to submit their test scores.\nOne such student is a Bates graduate and Vietnamese immigrant, who scored 400 on her SAT verbal in high school. She graduated Bates Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude.\n"She's exactly the person we are trying to find," said Bates' former dean of admissions to the Christian Science Monitor. "If we had required the SAT, it probably would have screened her out."\nWe wonder if IU might be doing just that -- focusing on good test-takers and screening out excellent candidates with low SAT scores, in the process. \nCurrently, the admission standard at IU is based on the average SAT score of entering freshman: 1108. Students have the option of submitting either the ACT or the SAT. We understand that standardized test scores don't represent the sole criteria in the admissions process. But the possibility exists that students with low test scores might feel discouraged from applying.\nWe're impressed by the Bates study's findings that show an increase in applications from women, minority students, low-income students, international students and students with disabilities that resulted from its admission policy. If widening the applicant pool means amending the admissions policy, we say it's a policy worth considering. \nDissent:\nIt would be wonderful if each and every one of us could be judged by our uniquely individual qualities (ambition, true intelligence, work ethic). In a perfect world, perhaps. But IU's freshman class averages in the neighborhood of 7,000 students. If we didn't have the SAT as a cold, hard standard to sift out the lower portion of the applicants, the staff over at the Office of Admissions would probably lay down their pens and slowly walk off campus. There has to be some kind of base-line standard to which students must work. It's called standardized testing for a reason - it's a standard. True, the test has proved to be biased and favored toward some demographic groups. Fix the test. The SAT isn't good for bad test-takers. Create an appeals process. But there must be a way for colleges to separate the wheat from the chaff -- the good students from the bad students. That is, as long as there is also a way to separate the bad test-takers from the bad students. But throwing the test -- rather than fixing it -- is only going to create headaches for everyone.