Standardized testing returns: Why top colleges are reinstating SAT requirements for applicants

Welcome back. For the past several years, high school seniors applying to college were not required to include their SAT or ACT scores in their applications, but that may become a thing of the past. Top universities nationwide are now reinstating SAT requirements, and as early as next year, the UC system could join them. For more insight now, let's welcome Alan Coe. He's the CEO of Cardinal Education. Good morning, Alan. Good morning. Thank you for having me. Of course. There was a time right after the pandemic when a majority of schools were test blind. What's changed? What's changed is the evidence is that with grade inflation in high schools, universities can't objectively determine how successful students will be during their undergrad years. And so testing is the only objective way for universities to compare students across schools and predict their success. Which universities have made the switch already and which ones are next, do you think? So almost all the elite universities have made the pivot already. Columbia and Princeton were the last holdouts and they have finally started requiring the SAT for next year. Even more progressive schools such as Claremont McKenna, they have started to indicate, I mean, they've announced that they will make it mandatory again. So more selective schools who have the optionality, they are reinstating the test almost universally. That is the directional trend. You made the point that grade inflation is a factor in universities and admissions officers having to rely on a standardized test, but are things like AI and the question about the credibility or veracity of essays, is that also a factor? That's absolutely a factor as well. And with essays, there's always been parents helping, teachers helping. But with AI, a lot of students, they're just letting AI write the essays, some of them very impressive essays, but not necessarily grounded in reality. And so testing really provides that objective measure. One of the main criticisms of requiring the SAT is that students with resources who are more affluent can afford to pay for things like extra tutoring and test prep. Why is that no longer a strong enough argument to not require these tests? Well, I think the explosion in AI and free online tools have made it so that no one really has an excuse for not studying and getting their scores to where they want them to be. And preparation for the SAT, it's not about acute tutoring for several months. It's about the foundation of your education for many years. The CSU and UC system still do not require an SAT or ACT score as part of a student's application. But the UC system especially, do you think they'll be changing that soon? They delayed a decision on whether or not to reinstate it earlier this year. They're gonna revisit it next year. Do you think it's inevitable that they will go that same route? I think it is inevitable. When they first canceled the SAT and ACT, there was a lot of talk about developing their own test. But when that test was estimated to cost a billion dollars to develop, talk of that quickly disappeared. And the evidence coming out of the UCs in terms of math readiness across all the campuses is making it quantitatively undeniable that banning the tests has really reduced overall math preparation across the UCs. With all of this in mind, what should students be doing to prepare? How soon or how early should they prepare for something like the SAT or ACT? The best preparation for the SAT and ACT are really strong reading and math fundamentals. You have to read beyond what the English teachers are asking you to. And if you do that, you're going to be successful. If you only read what English teachers are asking you to, even tutoring isn't going to cover it up very much. That's the first tip I would give. Second tip, please register and take the sophomore 10th grade PSAT. It doesn't count for anything if you do poorly. It doesn't count for anything if you do well. But it's a really good early indicator if you have to act, and it gives you more than a year and a half of time. Yeah, it's at least good to gauge where you might stand at taking the actual SAT. And again, like you said, it doesn't count against you, it can help you if you want, if you score in some of the top, I think 1% of your state, you can get some scholarships from it. But it doesn't hurt you as you said, anything else you think parents and students watching should know? You know, education, directionally, readiness has gone down. Math, English, it's not just on the SAT by almost every educational measure. And it really is the great equalizer. And even if the schools that you're applying to are test optional, many scholarship programs, they actually require the SAT. So I would encourage people to think of the SAT as giving them options and not as just a chore. All right. Alan Coe, CEO of Cardinal Education, thanks so much for your insight. We appreciate your time this morning. Thank you, Ali.