Ivy League school reinstates SAT, ACT admissions requirement: One of 'the most reliable indicators for success'

Dartmouth College, a private Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, announced Monday that standardized testing scores will once again be required for admission.

An article from the university explained that class of 2029 applicants will be required to submit SAT or ACT scores to be granted admission, according to a campus-wide email from President Sian Leah Beilock.

Dartmouth previously suspended the requirement for undergraduate applicants in June 2020, citing COVID-19. Other institutions, including Brown University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard University, also paused the requirement. MIT has since reinstated the admission policy.

"It was a pragmatic pause taken by most colleges and universities in response to an unprecedented global pandemic," the school stated in a recent press release. "At the time, we imagined the resulting 'test-optional' policy as a short-term practice rather than an informed commentary on the role of testing in our holistic evaluation process. Nearly four years later, having studied the role of testing in our admissions process as well as its value as a predictor of student success at Dartmouth, we are removing the extended pause and reactivating the standardized testing requirement for undergraduate admission, effective with the Class of 2029."

According to the university, the requirement will "improve — not detract from — our ability to bring the most promising and diverse students to our campus."

A new research study conducted by a group of faculty revealed that high school grades coupled with standardized testing are "the most reliable indicators for success" at the university.

"[The study] also found that test scores represent an especially valuable tool to identify high-achieving applicants from low and middle-income backgrounds; who are first-generation college-bound; as well as students from urban and rural backgrounds," the university stated.

Economics professor Bruce Sacerdote, who participated in the research group, explained that some applicants opted not to share their test scores when it could have "helped that student tremendously, maybe tripling their chance of admissions."

Lee Coffin, vice president and dean of admissions and financial aid, noted that the study's results were specific to Dartmouth and not a "grander statement about higher ed across the United States."

Last year, Columbia University became the first Ivy League institution to permanently eliminate standardized test requirements for admissions. West Virginia University also dropped the requirement, claiming it would reduce the "stress" of the college application process for undergraduates, Blaze News previously reported.

In October, ACT reported that test scores hit a 30-year low, with high school students' results declining for six consecutive years. According to ACT, the average composite score dropped by 0.3 points from 2022.

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