Hannah Richey
Opinion Editor
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Test scores are temporarily optional for fall 2021 admissions, but this change should be permanent because it can lead to important changes in our education system.
UAB recently announced that standardized test scores will not be required for admission or scholarship consideration for the fall 2021 semester. This has many good implications that will help a lot of students and the temporary downsides can be corrected.
Submission of test scores is optional, not disallowed, so students will still be able to submit test scores if they choose to.
The admissions website says if they opt-out of test scores their admission and merit-based scholarship award consideration is going to be “based on high school GPA and strength of high school curriculum.”
This is extremely beneficial to students who aren’t able to pay for tests. The price tag on these tests may have been manageable before the pandemic but now families across the country are struggling financially.
It’s also worth noting that qualifying for testing fee waivers is means tested, meaning conditional and based on the government’s assessment of a family’s income which is completely impersonal. So even before the pandemic plenty of families were unable to pay these fees but did not meet the largely arbitrary threshold.
There are also benefits for students who struggle with standardized testing. Many high schoolers struggle with both diagnosed and undiagnosed learning disabilities. Testing issues aren’t always solved with testing accommodations, which undiagnosed students can’t take advantage of.
Many students are also just bad standardized test takers, so their scores give very little indication of what their college preparedness really is.
Hopefully this is something UAB will see as largely beneficial and continue offering even after the pandemic.
Using high school GPA as well as the strength of the curriculum is certainly an improvement on the application process as it takes into account things that normally wouldn’t be accounted for.
The only problem with this currently is that many schools have underdeveloped curricula. This is because school funding is based on property taxes.
Since school funding is based on property taxes, areas with low property ownership suffer greatly. This is particularly true for Alabama, as property taxes here are some of the lowest in the country.
Many schools don’t have to funds to develop a high quality curriculum and standardized testing is a way for students to give themselves a boost in admissions.
This is not necessarily problematic at this point in time because UAB still accepts standardized testing, which is still happening. As stated, standardized testing has its own issues but hopefully this problem can be temporary. It’s just another part of the systemic issues of education that is worth accounting for as we look forward into what admissions can look like.
If UAB’s decision becomes the norm across the country for the long-term this can also signal to states and school boards that students don’t need to be engaged in so much standardized test taking. They will be encouraged to work on their curriculum and develop it to meet the needs of students.
UAB’s opt-out system for standardized testing is hopefully a gateway into a more holistic admissions process that will benefit students.
