Data released by administrators of college entrance standardized exams demonstrated that young college-hopeful students of low socioeconomic backgrounds not only performed at a lower level on the SAT/ACT than students of higher socioeconomic backgrounds, but those same students competed at a disadvantage with the students that were better off because poorer students could not afford the sessions with private tutors and extra study material that more affluent students would generally utilize. Every year, the College Board compiles data and results from their comprehensive SAT and subject tests in order to get a better understanding of how students are performing in relation to their varying ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds

Data released by the College Board (SAT Administrator) over the past 20 years has drawn attention to the overall declining scored on their standardized exams, as seen above, and recent data from the 2019-2020 SAT demonstrates the inequalities with scores between students of different races and economic backgrounds. In the most recent SAT exam, national data showed that almost 40% of the test takers were Hispanic/Latino and Black/African American, but they held the lowest math and reading/writing scores out of all the races participating, a trend that has appeared throughout the past years of exams up until now. Hispanic/Latino and Black/African American students are generally considered to be of lower socioeconomic status according to the U.S. Federal Reserve, indicating a troubling correlation between race, financial situation, and SAT score (Federal Reserve). Another interesting and telling statistic is the percentage of students who utilized a fee waiver to pay for the SAT, which equates to over 30% of the students that took the exam. For those that utilized a fee waiver, their overall SAT scores were significantly lower than those who did not, an indicator that students of lower socioeconomic backgrounds who needed assistance in paying for the exam itself were more likely to have a lower overall score (College Board). In a recent report published by the University of California Academic Council Standardized Testing Task Force (STTF), the UC system blatantly admitted that, "It is well known that students in disadvantaged groups tend, on average, to have lower [high school] GPAs and test scores than students without such disadvantage," which added to their recent decision to discontinue the use of standardized tests like the SAT and ACT by the year 2025 (University of California).

Why this is Difficult to Solve

Standardized tests have been used since the dawn of the 20th century; they have become a common aspect of America's education system and it is difficult to see a future without their influence in the education of the nation's students. In finding alternatives to issuing standardized tests to students, one is confronted with numerous obstacles, both visible and invisible, that to this day have inhibited any major changes in the system. Only recently with the sudden changes as a result of the coronavirus pandemic have their really any major adjustments; numerous universities and large groups like the University of California system have decided to get rid of their standardized entrance exam requirements, like the SAT/ACT, for instead a more apt tool for measuring scholastic achievement. This decision has been met with both praise and enthusiasm from different critics of America's education system and parents/students across the nation, but one important detail has been left unclear. The UC system has declared that they will not be requiring the SAT/ACT until the 2025 school year, when they will eventually implement their own standardized test that better aligns with guidelines for what they consider to be more important for incoming students to know and is considered to be a more fair approach to demonstrating college preparedness. What has not been made entirely clear is what this new exam will entail; will it be just a modified version of the typical SAT? Will students need to study for multiple exams if more universities follow suit? These are the kind of questions that keep college-hopeful students worried about the future of standardized testing and college applications (University of California).

Finding a replacement for standardized tests has been left to much debate over the last decade, with many petitions, organizations, and movements being formed to raise awareness and influence policy towards stopping the use of standardized tests like the SAT. And while there is a growing movement against the use of standardized tests in the United States, there have not been many feasible solutions or replacements presented until only recently.

Petitions are an effective way for advocates to influence policy in favor of eradicating standardized testing. Over 6 years ago, a petition was started to push for the Texas State Senate to vote no on measure HB 2543 so the famous STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) test would not be used to evaluate every teacher's performance for the classes they teach. This petition gained much traction and was eventually signed by over 55,000 people, leading to a successful campaign to stop the passing of that measure. This movement against the use of standardized tests was one of many early steps towards the eradication of standardized tests that did not benefit the well-being of both students and teachers, and led the way for many more events that paved the way for the argument against the use of standardized testing in schools.

Finding a legitimate replacement for standardized tests has proven to be no simple task. If it was, this topic would not be of such widespread debate, which is why any replacement that comes forth will most likely have both positive and negative aspects to it. In finding a solution to this problem, one must understand the original issues with standardized testing that are outlined above. Standardized testing overwhelmingly benefits students who hold more wealth over those of a lower economic background, and those who hold less wealth predominantly consist of minority groups that for too long have been overlooked by America's education system. Saying standardized tests are inherently racist is a bit of a stretch, but it can't be ignored that standardized tests benefit certain groups of students disproportionately. The proposal for a replacement system to eradicate standardized testing comes with multiple layers and is reasonably complex by nature. Specifically towards universities and colleges for the purpose of college admissions, they must discontinue the requirement to submit an SAT/ACT score for consideration. In place of that, universities and colleges should invest more time into creating a system where students are not only considered solely based on their test scores and overall GPA, but instead by benchmark assessments throughout their time in high school. Students would complete large assignments like presentations, research papers, and other projects throughout their four years at high school, perhaps one large assignment per academic year or once per semester (these assessments would not have much influence on their overall GPA). These assignment evaluations would later be sent to universities of the student's choice and those assignments along with the student's cumulative GPA would be used to evaluate each student's performance instead of using a standardized test that benefit smaller groups of people. This method eliminates all racial and economic biases associated with standardized testing, because every student from the same school will be receiving similar assignments that do not give any students unfair advantages like private study sessions, tutors, etc. No amount of wealth or extracurricular effort will give any student a slight advantage over other students who perhaps are not as financially fortunate using this proposed method.

Current Proposals

The University of California proposed earlier this year that by the end of 2025, they will begin implementing their own personalized standard exam for admission to their universities, which may seem like a great plan, but it contains numerous hidden flaws. If the UC System uses this new method of testing, all it will be is another version of what is already being used in the SAT. Since their exam will be tailored to education standards for the State of California, out-of-state students will have more difficulty getting accepted, as their education may differ from that of local Californian students.