MIT to Test Applicants

For John, BLUF:  It turnss out that for schools with especially challenging academic programs application tests help the school prepare to help students in the classroom.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Why MIT Is Reinstating Its SAT/ACT Requirement

Here is the sub-headline:

MIT is once again requiring student to take standardized tests as part of the admissions process, saying their research shows standardized tests help administrators identify which students are MIT ready.

From the Foundation for Economic Education, Managing Editor Jon Miltimore, 30 March 2022.

Here is the lede plus four:

In case you missed it, on Monday MIT announced that they would be reinstating their SAT/ACT requirement for future admissions cycles.  Like many universities, MIT had ditched the tests during the pandemic.

Even prior to the pandemic, however, there had been a widespread push to abandon these tests to enhance diversity.

“Data shows tests like the SAT are biased against students from low-income households. Poorer students tend to perform worse on the test,” CNN reported in 2015.  “Blacks and Hispanics also consistently score lower on the SAT than whites.” (CNN conveniently left out that Asian Americans score much higher than whites, presumably because it didn’t fit the narrative.)

So will MIT’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts be set back because it reinstated its test requirements? Nope—at least not according to MIT.

“Our research shows standardized tests help us better assess the academic preparedness of all applicants, and also help us identify socioeconomically disadvantaged students who lack access to advanced coursework or other enrichment opportunities that would otherwise demonstrate their readiness for MIT,” wrote Stu Schmill, Dean of Admissions and Student Financial Services.  “We believe a requirement is more equitable and transparent than a test-optional policy.”

My own experience was that after the first semester of two years of math, I was moved back from the accellerated path to the more pedestrian path.  It was a good movre on the part of the Academic Faculty.  On the other hand, if I had gone to Cal State Long Beach I might have been among the 50% who washed out after the first semester.  No test to get it, but many tests to stay in.  The CSLB approach was cheaper for the school, but was brutal in separating the wheat from the chaff.

Bonus Tweet from the article:

Sarah Isgur
@whignewtons
Beware easy solutions under the guise of equity:  Turned out getting rid of SAT/ACT advantaged wealthy and well connected kids who could ensure their applications stood out in other ways.  Duh.

Congrats to MIT for looking for the real problems, below the surface problems.

Regards  —  Cliff