New SAT option could allow students to choose reported scores

A proposal by national testing agency The College Board could give SAT test takers more freedom when submitting entrance exam scores, but some IU administrators say they are still unsure about the initiative.

The SAT Score Choice program could allow spring test takers to choose which scores to report to colleges. The College Board reports on its Web site that the measure will help alleviate test anxiety and give students a leg up in the college admissions
process.   

The admissions department at IU, however, is undecided about Score Choice.

“We’re actually going through a meeting with the College Board about the SAT in February in Chicago, and that’s one of the things we want to gain more information about – the idea that students can pick and choose which scores they submit,” said Vice Provost of Enrollment Management Roger Thompson.  

Some colleges have refused to accept new students without seeing all of their test scores. According to an article in the New York Times, these schools include University of Southern California, Stanford University, Claremont McKenna College and the University of Pennsylvania.

According to the College Board, many positive changes will stem from their new policy.

“This will allow students to put their best foot forward on test day by giving them more flexibility and control over their scores,” according to a statement from the College Board’s Web site.

The new Score Choice will be free with every exam and will allow students to choose only complete test scores to report – not composite scores of each of their best sections.

“Research has shown that if a student takes the SAT more than once, they generally score better the second or third time,” Thompson said. “We may see as a result students working harder and taking the test more often, which will probably help their scores.”

Freshman Cecily Barajas said that having Score Choice would have benefited her last year as a college applicant.

“It definitely would’ve helped me,” she said. “I took the SAT twice and did better second time. I still would’ve gotten in with my score, but for some people on the borderline that do better, that could determine if they get into a school or not.”

According to the New York Times article, the Score Choice system points out that the policy does have some negative features. Some of the schools interviewed in the story, such as Claremont McKenna, said that they thought Score Choice was a marketing device.

The College Board is also accused of changing its testing policy to compete with the ACT, which has always allowed students to control which scores are reported and which is gaining in popularity.

The SAT offered an option similar to Score Choice from 1993 to 2002, according to the New York Times, but the option was taken away after students forgot to report their scores and reports were lost.

Thompson pointed out that seeing a range of test scores on a college application can help the Admissions Office determine if the student has progressed, especially if the student is on the borderline.

“More scores provide more context. If (one score is) the only thing you receive, you don’t know if they’ve taken it seven times or one time,” Thompson said.

He also said IU Admissions has always used the student’s highest score, regardless of their other scores. The only difference with Score Choice, he said, is that IU might only be able to see one score.  

“More than anything, we are keeping an open mind until we hear from the College Board,” Thompson said.