In a decision that may cause high school students everywhere to drop their No. 2 pencils in surprise, Harvard University has announced it will once again require standardized test scores like the SAT and ACT for undergraduate admissions, reversing its temporary test-optional policy that was adopted during the chaos known as COVID-19.
So, after bravely forging ahead into the brave new world of holistic admissions without requiring test scores and presumably evaluating applicants based on interpretive dance and the quality of their personal essays about summer internships, the university has decided to go backwards by moving forwards. The results, administrators say, were based on research, data and possibly a twinge of Ivy League nostalgia for percentiles.
Harvard’s decision is not occurring in an academic vacuum. It follows similar moves by other elite institutions that have collectively remembered that standardized tests, for all their flaws and inequities, still provide a handy objective data point in a sea of self-reported GPAs and parental prose in application essays.
In a statement so academically worded it nearly requires a translator, the university explained that standardized exams “provide important information about academic preparedness” and allow admissions officers to “better allocate institutional resources to support enrolled students.” In other words, the tests help Harvard figure out who might need actual help once the semester starts, rather than discovering this the hard way halfway through Organic Chemistry.
The new policy will go into effect for the class applying in the fall of 2025, meaning current high school sophomores can put “relearn long division” back on their to-do list. It also means test prep companies across the country have been given a fresh lease on life and are now dusting off their PowerPoint slides on comma splices and logarithms.
“When students do not submit standardized information, it makes it more difficult to assess academic preparation and to compare applicants from different backgrounds,” said William R. Fitzsimmons, Harvard’s long-serving dean of admissions, who presumably has seen more high school transcripts than there are bricks in Harvard Yard.
This move, while arguably grounded in sound research, is likely to reignite debates over fairness in college admissions and the role testing plays in perpetuating inequality. But for Harvard, it seems the message is clear. Holistic review might be the heart of the process, but a good SAT score is still a lovely shade of lipstick on the application pig.
Turns out even Harvard can’t resist a good multiple choice question.