The University of Texas at Austin announced Monday that it will once again require standardized testing for admissions, becoming the latest selective university to reinstate SAT or ACT score requirements that were waived during the pandemic.
A few years ago, about 2,000 colleges and universities across the country began eliminating test score requirements, at least temporarily, over concerns that they reinforced inequality. But a growing number of schools are reversing these policies, including Brown University, Yale University, Dartmouth College, MIT, Georgetown University and Purdue University, with several schools announcing changes in recent months.
The University of Texas at Austin, which enrolls some of the highest-achieving Texas students under a plan aimed at increasing opportunities within the state, is joining other schools in reinstating testing requirements. They gave slightly different reasons. Officials say not requiring test scores has hindered the ability to place admitted students in the most suitable programs and determine which students need additional support. The university, which has made test scores optional for the past several years, will require applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores starting Aug. 1 for applications for fall 2025 admission.
UT President Jay Hartzl said in an interview that the decision was made based on an analysis of students who did not submit scores. “We looked at the students and found that in many ways, they were not doing well,” Dr. Hartzell said.
Opponents of mandatory testing have long argued that standardized tests are unfair because many students from wealthy families use tutors and coaches to improve their scores. However, recent data has raised questions about this controversy. In reinstating the test requirement, some universities have argued that making scores optional had the unintended effect of negatively impacting applicants from low-income families.
For example, Professor Brown notes that some students from less advantaged backgrounds are forced to submit scores based on the test's optional provisions, even though submitting scores could actually increase admissions. He said he chose not to.
However, the University of Texas at Austin operates under race-neutral admissions rules adopted more than 20 years ago to allow a broader range of students to enroll, and graduates in the top 6 percent of their high school class. automatically enrolls students from Texas who have
Of the students admitted to the university from Texas, 75% are considered “auto-admitted.” Other Texas students and out-of-state students are evaluated through a “holistic” admissions process that includes standardized test scores. In the admissions process for last year's entering class, her 42 percent of students chose to submit test scores.
Miguel Wasilewski, the university's vice president for admissions, said many of these students have a 4.0 grade point average. “There's not a lot of variation there,” he said, adding that test scores provide more detailed information to help determine rankings.
At UT Austin, students are asked to rank their choices among three programs of study. Test scores can help universities place students in majors where they are likely to succeed and identify students who need more support as part of efforts to increase graduation rates. The university's four-year graduation rate rose from 52% in 2013 to 74.5% in 2023.
Dr. Hartzell said this score is particularly important in determining which students will do well in more rigorous college programs such as engineering and business.
According to the university's statistics for the current freshman class of 9,217 students who enrolled last fall, students who submitted test scores were 55 percent less likely to have a first-semester GPA below 2.0. the university said.
The university says the data is managed based on factors such as high school grades and class rank, but students who submitted test scores had higher GPAs during the fall semester, on average 0.86 grade points higher. That's what it means.
Dr. Hartzell said the university consulted with the College Board, which administers the SAT, and found that nearly 90 percent of students applying to UT Austin take either the SAT or ACT.