Rationalization and Personhood in U.S. College Admissions: The Rise of Test-Optional Policies, 1990’s-Present

• In Event: 186 - Regular Session. Sociology of Higher Education. Organizational and Economic Transformation in the Higher Education Field

Abstract

This paper examines the rise of “test optional” admissions policies since the 1990’s and early 2000’s. I argue that the rationalization of admissions policies after World War II contributes to the rise of “meritocratic” stratification (in policy) and standardized tests like the SAT, but also leads to the expansion and legitimation of the roles of school and student personhood in the admissions process. Colleges and universities more committed to these distinctive conceptions of student personhood are more likely to adopt a test optional policy in order to recruit and admit students who fit their broader school identity. This movement is also catalyzed by prominent criticisms of the SAT in the early 2000’s, which especially targeted the SAT. The argument is supported qualitatively using illustrative examples from school websites, and quantitatively using discrete time event history models from 1987-2014.

Author

• Jared Furuta, Stanford University