Test-Optional Admissions Policies and Other Trends in Selective College Admissions

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

While participation in postsecondary education has grown over time, college enrollment, choice, and completion patterns are stratified by family income and race/ethnicity (Bailey & Dynarski, 2011; Baker et al., 2019; Koricich et al., 2018). Selective colleges in the United States—those that receive more applications from qualified applicants than they admit—enroll smaller shares of students from relatively disadvantaged backgrounds, on average, than community colleges, regional public universities, and less selective institutions (Baker et al., 2019; Chetty et al., 2017; Orphan et al., 2022). Research examines the extent to which selective college admissions policies and practices relate to college enrollment, choice, and completion outcomes. 

In this panel, four papers contribute to this growing body of literature by offering evidence regarding the impacts of recent policies and practices in selective college admissions. Three of the papers in the session explore the academic outcomes of test-optional policies, which became widespread during the pandemic when colleges altered admissions policies to allow applicants to choose whether to submit SAT or ACT scores for admissions consideration (Rosinger et al., 2024). The three papers offer insight into the extent to which test-optional policies influence admissions and academic outcomes across a variety of institution types: highly selective private colleges, a selective public flagship institution, and two state universities systems. The fourth paper offers experimental evidence regarding the impact of test score submission and math course taking on potential admissions decisions. Together, these papers offer insight into how recent trends in selective college admissions policy and practice relate to student outcomes across institution types.

Policy Area

• Education

Secondary Policy Area

• Family and Child Policy

Chair

• Katharine Meyer, Brookings Institution

Discussants

• Katharine Meyer, Brookings Institution

• Rajeev Darolia, University of Kentucky

Organizer

• Kelly Rosinger, Pennsylvania State University

Individual Presentations

• Examining the Academic Outcomes Associated with Test-Optional Admissions: Evidence from Two Public University Systems - Presenting Author: Kelly Rosinger, Pennsylvania State University; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Dominique Baker, University of Delaware; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Joseph Sturm, Pennsylvania State University; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Julie J Park, University of Maryland, College Park; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Julie R Posselt, University of Southern California

• What is the relationship between high school grades, test scores, and academic success in college? - Presenting Author: Nicholas W Hillman, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• The Enrollment Effects of Test-Optional Admissions Policies - Presenting Author: Zachary Bleemer, Princeton University

• Calculus as a Gatekeeper in Selective College Admissions?: Insights from a Lab-in-the-Field Experiment with Admissions Officers - Presenting Author: BK Byun, University of Michigan Ann Arbor; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Jeremy Wright-Kim, University of Michigan Ann Arbor