What does “test-optional” mean?

by Shivam Vashishtha online editor-in-chief

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many colleges and universities across the United States enforced a test-optional policy that relaxed the testing requirements for admission, meaning that applicants would no longer be required to submit an ACT or SAT score for admissions.

“According to research conducted by the Common App, this year, more than 80% of Common App member institutions did not require test scores from their applicants.”

According to research conducted by the Common App, this year, more than 80% of Common App member institutions did not require test scores from their applicants. In addition to that, fewer than half of the students who applied this past fall submitted their standardized test scores.

While there are many different test-optional policies, students may wonder what each policy really means for them. In general, when a school claims to be test optional, this means that students can choose whether or not to submit ACT and SAT scores. If a student opts to include their scores in their transcript, it will be considered during the admissions process. If a student opts to withhold their scores, however, admissions officers will focus on other parts of their application such as a student’s GPA, extracurriculars and letters of recommendation.

It is important to note that opting to include or withhold standardized test scores will not give a student an advantage or disadvantage over other students who do otherwise. This means if a student opts to not include test scores in their application, admissions officers will give more weight to other admissions categories. For example, if there are eight categories in which students are judged, and one of those categories is test scores, then a student who chooses not to submit scores will be judged in the remaining seven which will each be worth more.

This means that students should understand the strength of other parts of their application before deciding to not submit scores. “Students who submit their applications without test scores have to make sure that their GPA, class rank and extracurriculars are good enough to compensate for test scores,” said Christopher Hagel, math teacher.

There are still some advantages to submitting test scores, and strong test scores can help to make up for deficiencies in other categories. Typically, it is recommended that if students have test scores higher than 75% of students that attend a particular college, then they should submit their scores. If a student has test scores below 50% of students that attend a particular college, then it is not recommended to submit scores.

Although some students may be concerned about whether schools would penalize them for not submitting test scores, rigorous policies are in place to ensure the selection process is fair and equal between applicants, irrespective of whether they submitted scores or not.

“Students who submit their applications without test scores have to make sure that their GPA, class rank and extracurriculars are good enough to compensate for test scores.”

Christopher Hagel, math teacher

Since 2020, more colleges are becoming testoptional as a way to maintain diversity, not penalize students who don’t have the resources to prepare for standardized tests and to account for any disturbances that might’ve been caused to the students’ schooling by the pandemic. Whether or not submitting a test score is a better option varies from student to student, and there are many different aspects to consider.