While more than 700 colleges in the United States do not require ACT and SAT scores, some seeing a boost in applicants, Ohio University continues to require one of the standardized test scores for admission.
An April 4 USA Today article reported that 24 of U.S. News & World Report's top 100 liberal arts colleges are now SAT- and ACT-optional. Overall, 730 U.S. universities do not require SAT and ACT scores, according to the article.
Standardized test scores are still necessary for review at OU, as admissions continues to individually consider about 13,000 applications every year, said Candace Boeninger, assistant director for communication and technical operations at OU.
We try to approach application review in a holistic fashion so we're going to look at other factors as well (as the standardized test scores)
including the strength of their curriculum the rigor of the courses they selected and what their senior year and grade trends look like Boeninger said.
Because high school curricula vary, OU's admissions office uses the SAT and ACT test scores as an asset for standardizing a student's academics. Typically, about 90 percent of OU's incoming freshmen take the ACT while about 50 percent take the SAT, said Mike Williford, associate provost for institutional research and enrollment planning.
OU is not at this time looking to stop reviewing test scores, Boeninger said.
But we still use test scores as only one component of a more thorough review of an application
she said.
The SAT and ACT test scores have shown a positive correlation, somewhat moderately, on a student's academic performance in high school and how well they will do at OU, Williford said.
Since 1996, ACT composite scores for incoming freshmen at OU have dropped from 23.6 to 23.2 in fall 2005, according to statistics from OU's Office of Institutional Research at www.ohio.edu/instres. High school grade averages for incoming freshmen, however, have increased from 3.33 grade points in 1996 to 3.44 grade points in 2005, reaching 3.47 in 2000, according to the statistics.
Some colleges decided to change their policies after the College Board's addition of a 3-hour- and 45-minute SAT essay section and last year's scoring errors on at least 4,400 students' tests, according to the USA Today article.
For years OU has made the ACT writing test optional but encouraged students to take it. Beginning in 2006, however, the ACT writing test, optional in the past, will now be required for admission standards at OU's Athens campus, according to www.act.org.
Because other universities do require ACT writing test
we want our students to apply to more than one college and be prepared
Boeninger said.
Despite the popular misconception of Ohio being an ACT testing state
OU encourages students to take both the ACTs and SATs in order to acquire the best light possible because they test different aspects of a student's knowledge, Boeninger said.
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Natalie Farinacci
