WSU no longer requiring SAT, ACT scores for admissions

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PULLAMAN, Wash. - The Washington State University Board of Regents has voted to stop requiring and using SAT and ACT test scores in its admissions process.

The school said it will rely on other metrics that better reflect a potential student's ability to succeed.

In response to the pandemic, public universities waived or made optional SAT and ACT for students applying during the 2020 and 2021 admission cycles.

This new decision would make the waiver permanent.

"This is the trend," Provost and Executive Vice President Elizabeth Chilton said. "I think COVID just sort of pushed a number of colleges and universities a little further along because we saw that we were able to make informed decisions without those scores."

Chilton said data from the university showed that GPA was a better predictor of success at WSU than standardized test scores. Both 6-year graduation and first-year retention rates are higher for students with a high school GPA above 3.5 than for a student that scores above 1200 on the SAT, according to Chilton.

The move to eliminate consideration of the SAT and ACT is part of a national movement away from standardized tests due to concerns about implicit cultural bias and persistent inequalities among racial and ethnic groups.