What do you have to give up for Lent? California State University is giving up its academics, at least as far as standardized tests for admissions are concerned.
Its Board of Trustees issued the decision on Wednesday.
Because of the pandemic, CSU was forced to temporarily eliminate the ACT and SAT in order to address the issue. The decision has been permanently enacted.
What's the reason that a school might decide to stop tests that determine whether a student should be admitted to the school that does not let everyone in? Maybe the school allows everyone to enter. However, in the words of CSU the acting chancellor Steve Relyea, it's about making it easier for everyone to play. Relyea made it clear to CBS News:
“This decision aligns with the California State University's continued efforts to level the playing field and provide greater access to a high-quality college degree for students from all backgrounds.”
It is also a ploy to eliminate stress and anxiety:
“In essence, we are eliminating our reliance on the high-stress, high-stakes test that has shown negligible benefit and providing our applicants with greater opportunities to demonstrate their drive, talents and potential for college success.”
If someone is a person with “drive, talents and potential for college success,” they're bound to perform excellently on tests. Perhaps, getting good marks on tests isn't necessary to be successful in college.
This could be fair, as college students haven't been required in the past to earn high grades.
For the SAT test, it has been adjusted. The test was revised in May, 2019. RS editor-at-large Kira Davis stated:
“Typically, we see this concept as a way of the wealthy exclusion of the less fortunate, but the new method for judging SAT scores throws that notion of the rich being the only ones to be disadvantaged out of. In this latest strategy for attempting to ‘even the playing field’ the College Board (which oversees SAT tests) has decided to introduce a unique ‘adversity score’, when they grade their college entrance tests. The idea is to boost the scores of students from areas where they score higher in the ‘adversity’ scale. The program will consider the rate of crime, poverty and the value of properties.”
In the world of education, it's always an exciting time to start anew. Meritocracy, while old-fashioned, is not getting any respect from cutting-edge specialists.
A few of them, evidently, sit on the California State University Board of Trustees. The vote to eliminate the SAT along with the ACT had a unanimous vote.
Standardized test scores may still be used to determine placement in math subjects however, that’s in flux too.
