The Scandal of Standardized Tests: Why We Need to Drop the SAT and ACT

by Joseph A. Soares

Overview

This update to SAT Wars provides new evidence in the case against standardized college entry tests, including the experiences of test-optional colleges. The Scandal of Standardized Tests sheds significant light on key problems such as: Are the tests stronger proxies for race and family income today than they were 20 years ago? Does going test-optional promote racial and economic diversity? Are there any differences in academic records between students admitted without test scores and those with them? How does testing figure into race-sensitive admissions legal controversies? Why is the College Board’s “environmental dashboard” inadequate as a way to create a fair playing field? How are the odds of attending and graduating from college stacked against low-income youths and racial minorities? What does the FBI Varsity Blues sting tell us about college admissions in America?

Book Features:

• Provides 25 years of data on California showing how the correlation of test scores with race has grown over time while their predictive powers have declined.
• Shows how the disparate results of SAT/ACT scores by race provide grounds for a constitutional challenge to the use of those tests.
• Provides an overview of our current national situation regarding college applications, attendance, and graduation rates according to family income and college major.
• Offers a devastating critique of the College Board’s “adversity index.”
• Includes a national balance sheet on the experiences of test-optional colleges.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807763315
Publisher:	Teachers College Press
Publication date:	04/17/2020
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Joseph A. Soares is chair and professor of sociology at Wake Forest University.

Table of Contents

Preface Joseph A. Soares ix

Introduction: "Toss That Test" Joseph A. Soares 1

Part I The Case Against the SAT/ACT

1 Norm-Referenced Tests and Race-Blind Admissions: The Case for Eliminating the SAT and ACT at the University of California Saul Geiser 11

2 Wealth's Influence on College Enrollment and Completion Paul Fain 44

3 How the SAT Creates Built-in Headwinds: An Educational and Legal Analysis of Disparate Impact William C. Kidder Jay Rosner 48

4 The "Landscape" or "Dashboard Adversity Index" Distraction: A Clumsy Attempt at Damage Control Joseph A. Soares 76

Part II Admissions without Requiring Test Scores

5 The SAT/ACT Optional Admissions Growth Surge: More Colleges Conclude "Test Scores Do Not Equal Merit" Robert Schaeffer 97

6 Non-Submitter Analysis: A Review of Students Who Did Not Submit Versus Those Who Did Michael DeWitt Philip Handwerk 114

7 Defining Access: How Test-Optional Works Steven T. Syverson Valerie W. Franks William C. Hiss 127

Final Thoughts: The FBI Sting and Moments That Define a Profession Jon Boeckenstedt 195

About the Contributors 201

Index 203

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Yet again, Joseph Soares and his contributors convincingly argue against mandatory standardized testing practices. This is a must-read for anyone working in the higher education field."
—Ibram X. Kendi, executive director, The Antiracist Research and Policy Center, American University

“The authors deliver a mighty blow to the standing of standardized testing. If Soares and his colleagues are not able to kill the beast, they may convince more admissions officers to go test-optional. This would represent a meaningful step toward equalizing access to higher education.
—Amy J. Binder, professor and chair of the Department of Sociology, University of California San Diego

Editorial Reviews

At a time when many educational practices and traditions are being questioned and challenged, it might be expected that people are also reexamining and contesting the usefulness of standardized tests such as ACT and SAT. In The Scandal of Standardized Tests, Soares (Wake Forest Univ.) and the contributing authors build a powerful case for the elimination of such tools.”

—CHOICE

From the Publisher