Some U.S. colleges have stopped requiring applicants to take either the SAT or ACT test, or at least de-emphasized the importance of these tests, for a variety of reasons. Some argue that standardized tests are not objective predictors of college success. Others contend that test-prep companies have turned the SAT and ACT into frenzied marketing campaigns, capitalizing on the worries of student applicants about their test performance.
In 1984, Bates College became one of the first institutions of higher learning to adopt an SAT-optional program. In 1990, the ACT and all other tests of its ilk were declared optional for Bates College's admissions process. In 2004, Bates published a study that declared that in the two decades since the adoption of the SAT-optional program, the college's application pool had doubled, and that the difference in graduation rates between submitters and non-submitters was 0.1 percent.
The Bates College example ignited a SAT-optional movement among small U.S. liberal arts colleges in the early 2000s. Today, there are more than 800 four-year colleges in the United States that make it optional to take standardized tests for college admission. Among these institutions are highly selective schools such as Smith College, the University of Texas at Austin and Wake Forest University. A list of such institutions is compiled by the National Center for Fair and Open Testing (FairTest).
However, there are exceptions at colleges that have adopted the standardized-test-optional approach. SAT and ACT scores can be used when the applicant does not meet the school's minimum GPA and/or class rank standards, or if he is applying from out of state. In other cases, SAT and ACT scores are required for some of the college's programs, or used by academic counselors for advising new students on their career paths.
Generally, distance learning colleges eschew the use of standardized tests because they admit just about anyone with the ability to pay the tuition. Some religion-affiliated colleges use the SAT and ACT only to determine eligibility for financial aid, as well as academic strengths and weaknesses, but not for admissions decisions.