Why US colleges are rethinking the SAT

TEST RUN: Actor Ben Affleck reportedly had a near perfect SAT score but now eight Ivy League schools have made scores optional

- Janet Lorin

The pandemic forced a pause on colleges requiring standardised testing, long the gold standard for admissions in the US. As Covid-19 restrictions ease, widespread mandatory reliance on the ACT and SAT entrance exams isn’t springing back as quickly. One reason is that schools anticipate more Covid disruptions and want to provide predictability to applicants. Another is concern over large race-related gaps in SAT scores, which have been blamed for unequal educational opportunity for non-White students.

The SAT, administered by the College Board, and the ACT are decades-old screening tools for US college admission. Both are multiple-choice, written exams heavy on math and reading, taken by high school students typically in their junior year, sometimes senior.