Evaluations of merit, test-optional admissions policies, and diversity in college campuses

Strategy & Business Policy

Speaker: Greta Hsu

Professor - UC Davis

Conference  Jouy-en-Josas T015

Abstract: When standardized tests like the SAT and ACT were introduced to higher education in the U.S., they were viewed as systematic, neutral measures of students’ intellect—and thus a means for identifying talented individuals who could grow to occupy leadership positions. Over time, standardized testing became central to the college admissions process.  However, these tests have faced increasing criticism for favoring the structurally advantaged and exacerbating inequality, leading many colleges to eliminate them as admissions requirements.  In this study, we consider how admissions offices’ claims regarding which criteria are most important to thinking about and evaluating merit can shape the outcomes of eliminating testing requirements in systematic ways.  Our analyses suggest that eliminating requirements generally leads to an increase in enrollment of underrepresented minority students. However, this positive effect is significantly reduced at universities where admissions offices continue to strongly value quantitative academic metrics in their evaluations of merit. We further find that, when alternative institutional priorities such as financial and budgetary pressures become more salient, the impact of eliminating testing requirements on the presence of underrepresented minority students weakens.  We consider the implications of our findings for contemporary discussion of how standardized test scores influence college admissions decisions, as well as scholarship related to institutional theory, diversity management, and higher education.