Some schools found that test scores don't help them attract the students they want.
As many Connecticut high school students prepare to take SAT tests this weekend, a growing number of colleges and universities nationwide are dropping their SAT and ACT testing requirements.
Bob Schaefer is the public education director of FairTest, The National Center for Fair And Open Testing.
“We’ve needed, especially in Connecticut – where more than a dozen schools are test-optional or test-flexible – nationally, the number is in excess of 850 accredited, bachelor-degree granting institutions,” Schaefer said.
Schaefer said those colleges and universities that have made the change find that SAT and ACT scores don’t help them attract the kinds of students they most want.
“Independent research has shown that in fact, high school records, the grades you attain in college preparatory courses, and what you do outside the classroom -- in terms of extra-curricular activities, leadership, community service -- are stronger predictors of which students are likely to graduate,” Schaefer said.
Wesleyan University, Trinity College, Connecticut College, Western, and Eastern Connecticut State Universities are among the Connecticut schools that are now testoptional or test-flexible.