The Scandal of Standardized Tests

This update to SAT Wars provides new evidence in the case against standardized college entry tests, including the experiences of test-optional colleges. The Scandal of Standardized Tests sheds significant light on key problems such as: Are the tests stronger proxies for race and family income today than they were 20 years ago? Does going test-optional promote racial and economic diversity? Are there any differences in academic records between students admitted without test scores and those with them? How does testing figure into race-sensitive admissions legal controversies? Why is the College Board’s “environmental dashboard” inadequate as a way to create a fair playing field? How are the odds of attending and graduating from college stacked against low-income youths and racial minorities? What does the FBI Varsity Blues sting tell us about college admissions in America?

Book Features:

• Provides 25 years of data on California showing how the correlation of test scores with race has grown over time while their predictive powers have declined.
• Shows how the disparate results of SAT/ACT scores by race provide grounds for a constitutional challenge to the use of those tests.
• Provides an overview of our current national situation regarding college applications, attendance, and graduation rates according to family income and college major.
• Offers a devastating critique of the College Board’s “adversity index.”
• Includes a national balance sheet on the experiences of test-optional colleges.

Joseph A. Soares is chair and professor of sociology at Wake Forest University.

“At a time when many educational practices and traditions are being questioned and challenged, it might be expected that people are also reexamining and contesting the usefulness of standardized tests such as ACT and SAT. In The Scandal of Standardized Tests, Soares (Wake Forest Univ.) and the contributing authors build a powerful case for the elimination of such tools.”

—CHOICE

"Yet again, Joseph Soares and his contributors convincingly argue against mandatory standardized testing practices. This is a must-read for anyone working in the higher education field."
—Ibram X. Kendi, executive director, The Antiracist Research and Policy Center, American University

“The authors deliver a mighty blow to the standing of standardized testing. If Soares and his colleagues are not able to kill the beast, they may convince more admissions officers to go test-optional. This would represent a meaningful step toward equalizing access to higher education.
—Amy J. Binder, professor and chair of the Department of Sociology, University of California San Diego

Contents (Tentative)

Preface
Joseph A. Soares

Introduction: “Toss That Test”
Joseph A. Soares

Part I: The case against The SAT/ACT

1.;Norm-Referenced Tests and Race-Blind Admissions:
The Case for Eliminating the SAT and ACT at the University of California
Saul Geiser

2.;Wealth’s Influence on College Enrollment and Completion
Paul Fain

3.;How the SAT Creates Built-in Headwinds:
An Educational and Legal Analysis of Disparate Impact
William C. Kidder and Jay Rosner

4.;The “Landscape” or “Dashboard Adversity Index” Distraction: A Clumsy Attempt at Damage Control
Joseph A. Soares

Part II: Admissions without requiring test scores

5.;The SAT/ACT Optional Admissions Growth Surge:
More Colleges Conclude “Test Scores Do Not Equal Merit”
Robert Schaeffer

6.;Wake Forest’s Ten Years of Test-Optional Admissions:
A Review of Students Who Did Not Submit Versus Those Who Did
Michael DeWitt and Philip Handwerk

7.;Defining Access: How Test-Optional Works
Steven T. Syverson, Valerie W. Franks, and William C. Hiss

Final Thoughts: The FBI Sting and Moments That Define a Profession
Jon Boekkenstedt

About the Contributors

Index