Trends in College Entrance

Posted by Barbara Pytel Aug 2, 2006

There is now a shift away from ranking and testing in high schools. For example, I attended a niece's graduation a few years ago in Michigan. There was no valedictorian. Instead, my niece was one of the "top 10" in her class. This is becoming common. Students often shy away from taking challenging classes because it could ruin their grade point average. They would rather not take Physics because it could lower their g.p.a. Of course, the colleges study what classes students took to earn the g.p.a. and are not fooled by the valedictorian label.

It is common knowledge that if you want to go to college, you must take the ACT or SAT and do well or you won't be admitted. This is also changing. There is a growing list of colleges that are making ACT and SAT tests optional. The site, Fair Test: The National Center for Fair & Open Testing, lists the schools that do not use ACT/SAT for admission. Some colleges on the list are Gustavus Adolphus, Bates, Bowdoin, George Mason, Juilliard, St. Ambrose, and St. Lawrence. The left-brained ACT/SAT tests often eliminate the creative students. Colleges are crying for creativity but the tests they rely on for admission eliminate the very students they want.

Tufts is now allowing students to choose between ACT/SAT scores or a creative essay for admission. Tufts is hoping to get more students that have practical skills and not merely test-taking skills.

The trend is shifting toward using book knowledge and not merely taking a test.

Related articles: Universal Design for Learning, Right Brain Characteristics, Left Brain Characteristics