Over the COVID pandemic, many colleges and universities dropped the submission requirement for ACT/SAT standardized testing scores. However, as we move past that quarantine era, more and more schools are starting to reconsider the importance of test scores in the college application process. Many top schools, including Harvard, MIT, and Yale, are making these tests mandatory for fall 2025 undergraduate applications.

The return of required standardized test scores for the SAT and ACT is a good thing. Some will argue that these standardized tests only benefit wealthier kids, since they would have more access to resources to help them prepare, retake tests, and achieve higher scores. However, it’s the exact opposite. A lot of people forget that applicants aren’t only compared against students across the entire United States. Applicants are also compared between classmates at their own school. By making test scores mandatory, admissions officers can see how well a student does at their own school. A 1500 SAT at an elite private high school does not mean the same thing as a 1450 at an underfunded public high school. Colleges are looking for students that make the most of the opportunities available to them, not necessarily the best of the best. If colleges are test-optional, then wealthier, more privileged students automatically get an upper hand. There’s no incentive for them to report a comparatively lower score for their school, making their profile more competitive. 

By making college applications test-optional, richer applicants actually benefit. There’s no incentive for them to take these tests and submit scores. A possibly weak part of their application is completely disregarded, leaving only the stronger parts to make their admission more likely. 

Also, standardized tests aren’t the only thing available on college applications. If we’re arguing that standardized tests provide an advantage to wealthier students due to increased resources, then we have to take a look at extracurriculars. Simply put, wealthier students will have much more time available to dedicate to extracurriculars, particularly expensive ones. Low-income students won’t be able to come across the same opportunities as wealthier students, like science projects, certain sports, and some volunteering positions. 

To put it plainly, admissions officers are looking for “good” test takers. It’s understandable that some people might feel like they are “bad” test takers. But tests are what college is all about. Many grades in college classes are largely based off of scores on final exams—those exams usually being timed. Colleges are looking for the traits that make people seemingly “good” test takers. They’re looking for students who exhibit good test-taking habits like memorization techniques, logical reasoning, and reading comprehension, as these skills are all necessary for success in college classes. High SAT/ACT scores can show that a student is a good test taker. 

One thing is for certain: GPA isn’t necessarily a good measure of academic success. It’s well known that grade inflation is present in many high schools. With high schools reporting GPAs on a variety of different scales, from 4.0 to 5.0 to 100-point scales, it’s often difficult to compare students’ GPAs from school to school. Plus, GPA doesn’t account for the difficulty in school. A 4.0 at an easy, grade-inflated high school doesn’t mean the same thing as a 3.75 at a difficult, grade-deflated high school. GPA can be a good measure, but it’s still important to look to other factors to determine the quality of a student. It’s easy to turn to standardized tests for that. Students are given the same test and are graded on the same scale, making it easy to compare student to student. It removes the uncertainty and ambiguity that GPA might carry. 

Let me be clear: Test scores are not the end all, be all. SAT and ACT scores don’t tell you about someone’s work ethic, honesty, or intelligence. In no way am I saying that SAT and ACT scores tell us everything about a person’s situation. But we cannot fail to remember that these scores are an important part of the college admission process. People aren’t only being considered for their SAT and ACT scores, too. The countless other parts of their college applications, like essays, honors, and awards, all play huge factors in determining acceptance or rejection. These standardized test scores are just simply a supplement to determine college decisions, but an absolutely essential one. These tests tell us a lot about student performance that essays or GPA fail to capture.