Yale and Dartmouth reversed their test-optional policies after discovering that SAT scores predict college success better than inflated grades. The unexpected finding: dropping test requirements actually hurt the low-income students these policies aimed to help.
Grade Inflation Undermines Application Quality
Nearly 50% of high school students now graduate with A averages, up from 38% just a decade ago. When everyone has excellent grades, those grades stop meaning much.
This grade compression creates a serious problem for competitive admissions. If half your applicant pool has a 4.0 GPA, how do you identify the students who are genuinely exceptional?
The inconsistency runs deeper than just inflation. Different high schools apply wildly different grading standards. An A at one school may represent genuine mastery of challenging material, while at another, that same A reflects minimal effort and lenient grading policies.
Admissions officers at Yale and Dartmouth found themselves unable to distinguish genuine achievement from grade inflation. Standardized tests emerged as the most reliable tool for cutting through the noise and identifying students truly prepared for elite academic environments.
Test-Optional Policies Favored Wealthy Students
Perhaps the most ironic finding drove Yale and Dartmouth’s decision: test-optional policies actually disadvantaged low-income students.
When test scores disappeared from applications, admissions committees shifted emphasis to other factors: extracurricular achievements, polished essays, demonstrated leadership, and impressive internships. These subjective factors correlate far more strongly with family income than SAT scores ever did.
Wealthy students can afford private college counselors, expensive summer programs, and extensive extracurricular opportunities, while high-performing students from under-resourced schools lost their best tool for proving they could compete.A strong SAT score had previously helped admissions officers identify talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds who deserved admission despite limited opportunities. Yale and Dartmouth recognized this unintended consequence. Standardized tests, it turns out, actually level the playing field for talented low-income students.
