University of Minnesota keeps ACT/SAT test scores optional through 2023

Students applying to the University of Minnesota's Twin Cities campus will not be required to submit ACT or SAT test scores any time soon.

U leaders told the school's Board of Regents Thursday they will continue to keep standardized test score submissions optional for freshman applicants through fall 2023 as they mull whether to make the change permanent. The U and other colleges nationwide moved away from standardized testing out of necessity at the start of the pandemic, when high school students struggled to access the tests, and most have yet to resume the requirement.

"Nearly all of our peers are remaining test-optional moving forward," said Bob McMaster, akthe U's vice provost and dean of undergraduate education. "In terms of recruitment and basic competition for students, you don't want to be at a disadvantage in that you're the only one that's requiring a test score."

One of the U's biggest competitors, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will be test-optional through the spring 2025 semester.

The value of standardized test scores had been called into question even before the pandemic, fueled by a growing awareness that test-takers from higher-income households can have advantages such as prep classes and tutors.

With test scores optional, students have been able to emphasize their grades, accomplishments and extracurricular involvement. About half the students who applied for admission to the U's Twin Cities campus last fall did not include test scores on their applications.

But standardized test scores remain reliable predictors of first-year student success and graduation rates, administrators say. Other measures, such as grades and class rank, have become less reliable in recent years as the average high school GPA has risen and fewer applicants disclose their rank.

University administrators are evaluating the academic performance of students who did not submit test scores versus those who did. That assessment will help determine whether the U's test-optional approach becomes permanent, McMaster said.

"We really have to wait until the end of this year to see what the impact was on this class," he said.

Student representative to the Board of Regents Seah Buttar asked Provost Rachel Croson during Thursday's meeting if graduate school entrance exams may also be made optional.

Croson said the U's separate colleges and departments set their own graduate admissions criteria, and discussions about such changes are nuanced and dependent on factors such as accreditation requirements.

"There is not a uniform policy," Croson said.

Regent James Farnsworth praised the university's extended test-optional policy as an approach that will make the school accessible to a broader swath of students.

"I think it increases access and opportunity for the students we need to continue to strive to serve," Farnsworth said.