Dartmouth Will Again Require Standardized Tests
2024-02-11
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1Dartmouth College, the Ivy League university in New Hampshire, announced last week that it will again require standardized tests from applicants.
2American students who wish to attend Dartmouth starting in the fall of 2025 will need to send SAT or ACT scores with their applications.
3Students from other parts of the world will need to submit results from "an equivalent standardized national exam," according to Dartmouth.
4The university suspended its consideration of standardized tests for four years.
5In 2020, Dartmouth and many other American universities entered a "test-optional" period, which officials said was because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
6Starting in the spring of 2020, schools increasingly stopped holding in-person classes.
7That made it difficult for students to prepare for and gather to take standardized tests.
8Many universities used the "test-optional" period to find out what would happen if they no longer required the SAT and ACT.
9Years before, a few studies said that the tests favored wealthy students.
10Nat Smitobol is with IvyWise, a company that offers college admissions advice in New York City.
11Smitobol said universities want a diverse group of students and were not sure they were getting enough of them by looking at standardized tests.
12Dartmouth said it looked at its group of accepted students after four years.
13It found the test optional policy increased the number of applications but made it harder to find the best students.
14The university said it discovered standardized test scores were "a valuable element of Dartmouth's undergraduate application."
15In addition, the university said the tests expanded its ability to "identify talent."
16That means the tests made it easier for Dartmouth to find good students who do not come from rich families or wealthy high schools.
17Dartmouth joins Georgetown University in Washington D.C. and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as top schools again requiring standardized test scores.
18Currently, Yale University in Connecticut, Harvard University and Duke University in North Carolina still permit students to apply without test results.
19They are all highly selective schools.
20But some experts wonder if those schools will follow Dartmouth.
21Smitobol at IvyWise said most students still take the SAT or ACT.
22But he said most do not understand that they can still apply to schools such as Dartmouth even if their scores are a little low.
23An average SAT score is 1050 while 1600 is perfect.
24"There's kids that won't break 1000 that can absolutely do the work at a Penn (University of Pennsylvania) or a Harvard or any of these places, there's no doubt about it."
25Smitobol said a student with good grades who is an immigrant, or whose parents did not go to college, should almost always submit their test scores.
26"If you score a 1400 or above and you're the first in your family to go to college, that would be an astronomical score," he said.
27"And really, quite frankly, that's way more impressive than a 1550 from a student, you know, like from an affluent background."
28Many students, however, say they like the freedom of choosing whether to send their scores to other schools.
29Renee Bischoff is the Director of College Counseling at Hawken School, a high school near Cleveland, Ohio.
30She said she has some students who are good at lots of things: theater, sports, leadership activities, teaching younger students or performing community service, but they are not good at taking standardized tests.
31If they choose to apply to a college that does not need a test score, they can put their energy into other things.
32She said some students were taking tests five times in an effort to raise their scores.
33"I will say to them, 'you know what?' You shouldn't spend the extra time. Don't spend the money. Don't spend your Saturday."
34"Focus your time on doing the things that are deeply meaningful to you and work hard in school.That will be the leading thing and the testing isn't required, so let's not spend all our time and money on that."
35Barry Maloney is the president of Worcester State University in Massachusetts.
36He wrote an opinion piece for the Telegram & Gazette, a local newspaper, about test optional admission.
37For colleges like his, he wrote, a student's grades are "the best predictor" of their success.
38"If a standardized test is something you don't want to take for admission...for any reason...you simply don't need to," he wrote.
39Christiana Kalokoh is a senior at Annandale High School in Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C.
40She was born in the African nation of Sierra Leone and moved to the U.S. as a girl.
41She was accepted to a number of colleges already but did not send her test scores.
42She said she tried her best on the tests, but she felt intimidated and confused.
43She did not take a test preparation class like some students.
44However, Kalokoh has done well in school and taken part in many clubs and activities.
45She has a job to help support her family.
46She is the president of her school's Bible study club and takes part in heritage night, where she teaches people about her country.
47Kalokoh said she liked the fact that she could still get into a good college without doing well on the tests.
48"It gives me a sense of peace knowing that if I were to study my hardest and try my best and still maybe not get such a great score, it wouldn't completely ruin my chances of getting into that college."
49She applied to the University of Virginia and James Madison University and did not send her test scores.
50She will find out if she has been accepted later this spring.
51Laura Wells is the AVID program coordinator at Annandale.
52The program identifies students who could do well in college, but they need extra support in order to succeed in more difficult classes.
53The program also gives extra help and direction on college applications.
54Wells helps students such as Kalokoh, who were not born in the U.S., or whose parents do not speak English.
55Wells said her students usually have trouble with the tests. But the ones who get "straight A's," the very top grades, go on to do well in college.
56Even if top schools require test scores, she said it is important that other schools remain test optional.
57The students she works with still need to believe they can go to a good college.
58For her, such schools in Virginia include the University of Virginia (UVA) and Virginia Tech.
59"I do hope that schools like, you know UVA, Virginia Tech, still choose to be test optional because otherwise, it is really hard, I think, for students to kind of see themselves at those schools.They can accept the fact that they might not get into Dartmouth or Georgetown or Johns Hopkins or something, right?But you should have a shot at being able to go to your top-ranked state school. Yeah, that's what I think, anyway."
60I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Caty Weaver.
1Dartmouth College, the Ivy League university in New Hampshire, announced last week that it will again require standardized tests from applicants. 2American students who wish to attend Dartmouth starting in the fall of 2025 will need to send SAT or ACT scores with their applications. Students from other parts of the world will need to submit results from "an equivalent standardized national exam," according to Dartmouth. 3The university suspended its consideration of standardized tests for four years. In 2020, Dartmouth and many other American universities entered a "test-optional" period, which officials said was because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 4Why did the schools go "test optional?" 5Starting in the spring of 2020, schools increasingly stopped holding in-person classes. That made it difficult for students to prepare for and gather to take standardized tests. 6Many universities used the "test-optional" period to find out what would happen if they no longer required the SAT and ACT. Years before, a few studies said that the tests favored wealthy students. 7Nat Smitobol is with IvyWise, a company that offers college admissions advice in New York City. Smitobol said universities want a diverse group of students and were not sure they were getting enough of them by looking at standardized tests. 8Dartmouth said it looked at its group of accepted students after four years. It found the test optional policy increased the number of applications but made it harder to find the best students. The university said it discovered standardized test scores were "a valuable element of Dartmouth's undergraduate application." 9In addition, the university said the tests expanded its ability to "identify talent." That means the tests made it easier for Dartmouth to find good students who do not come from rich families or wealthy high schools. 10Dartmouth joins Georgetown University in Washington D.C. and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as top schools again requiring standardized test scores. 11Currently, Yale University in Connecticut, Harvard University and Duke University in North Carolina still permit students to apply without test results. They are all highly selective schools. 12But some experts wonder if those schools will follow Dartmouth. 13Students still take the test even if optional 14Smitobol at IvyWise said most students still take the SAT or ACT. But he said most do not understand that they can still apply to schools such as Dartmouth even if their scores are a little low. An average SAT score is 1050 while 1600 is perfect. 15"There's kids that won't break 1000 that can absolutely do the work at a Penn (University of Pennsylvania) or a Harvard or any of these places, there's no doubt about it." 16Smitobol said a student with good grades who is an immigrant, or whose parents did not go to college, should almost always submit their test scores. 17"If you score a 1400 or above and you're the first in your family to go to college, that would be an astronomical score," he said. 18"And really, quite frankly, that's way more impressive than a 1550 from a student, you know, like from an affluent background." 19Many students, however, say they like the freedom of choosing whether to send their scores to other schools. 20Better things to do than take a test 21Renee Bischoff is the Director of College Counseling at Hawken School, a high school near Cleveland, Ohio. She said she has some students who are good at lots of things: theater, sports, leadership activities, teaching younger students or performing community service, but they are not good at taking standardized tests. 22If they choose to apply to a college that does not need a test score, they can put their energy into other things. She said some students were taking tests five times in an effort to raise their scores. 23"I will say to them, 'you know what?' You shouldn't spend the extra time. Don't spend the money. Don't spend your Saturday." 24"Focus your time on doing the things that are deeply meaningful to you and work hard in school. That will be the leading thing and the testing isn't required, so let's not spend all our time and money on that." 25Barry Maloney is the president of Worcester State University in Massachusetts. He wrote an opinion piece for the Telegram & Gazette, a local newspaper, about test optional admission. For colleges like his, he wrote, a student's grades are "the best predictor" of their success. 26"If a standardized test is something you don't want to take for admission...for any reason...you simply don't need to," he wrote. 27Christiana Kalokoh is a senior at Annandale High School in Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. She was born in the African nation of Sierra Leone and moved to the U.S. as a girl. 28She was accepted to a number of colleges already but did not send her test scores. 29She said she tried her best on the tests, but she felt intimidated and confused. She did not take a test preparation class like some students. 30However, Kalokoh has done well in school and taken part in many clubs and activities. She has a job to help support her family. She is the president of her school's Bible study club and takes part in heritage night, where she teaches people about her country. 31The importance of hope 32Kalokoh said she liked the fact that she could still get into a good college without doing well on the tests. 33"It gives me a sense of peace knowing that if I were to study my hardest and try my best and still maybe not get such a great score, it wouldn't completely ruin my chances of getting into that college." 34She applied to the University of Virginia and James Madison University and did not send her test scores. She will find out if she has been accepted later this spring. 35Laura Wells is the AVID program coordinator at Annandale. The program identifies students who could do well in college, but they need extra support in order to succeed in more difficult classes. 36The program also gives extra help and direction on college applications. 37Wells helps students such as Kalokoh, who were not born in the U.S., or whose parents do not speak English. 38Wells said her students usually have trouble with the tests. But the ones who get "straight A's," the very top grades, go on to do well in college. 39Even if top schools require test scores, she said it is important that other schools remain test optional. The students she works with still need to believe they can go to a good college. For her, such schools in Virginia include the University of Virginia (UVA) and Virginia Tech. 40"I do hope that schools like, you know UVA, Virginia Tech, still choose to be test optional because otherwise, it is really hard, I think, for students to kind of see themselves at those schools. They can accept the fact that they might not get into Dartmouth or Georgetown or Johns Hopkins or something, right? But you should have a shot at being able to go to your top-ranked state school. Yeah, that's what I think, anyway." 41I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Caty Weaver. 42Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press. 43__________________________________________________ 44Words in This Story 45standardized test -n. tests taken by large numbers of students that are meant to measure their general knowledge and compare it to other students 46applicant -n. a person who is submitting applications for entry into a school or college 47equivalent -adj. something that is different in small details but is more or less equal to something else 48diverse -adj. involving many different kinds of people 49talent -n. people who have valuable abilities and knowledge 50mean -n. a value that has an equal number of values above it and below it 51astronomical -adj. an extremely high value 52affluent -adj. having a large amount of money or property 53focus -v. pay attention or put time into something 54intimidated -adj. made fearful by something 55confused -adj. unsure and not able to make a clear decision 56We want to hear from you. Have you taken the SAT or ACT? How do you feel about the tests?