>>> SATS -- OR STANDARDIZED APTITUDE TESTS -- HAVE LONG BEE
REQUIRED BY COLLEGES FOR ADMISSION, BUT MORE AND MORE
COLLEGES ARE MAKING THEM OPTION IT IS A GREAT RELIEF TO STUDENT
WHO HAVE GOOD GRADES, BUT TEND TO FREEZE ON STANDARDIZED TESTS
CAROLEE MCGRATH SAT DOWN WITH STUART JONES, V.P.
OF ENROLLMEN AT SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE WHICH
RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THE TESTS WILL BE OPTIONAL FOR STUDENTS
ENTERING COLLEGE IN 2020, AND KERRY COLE, V.P.
OF ADMISSIONS AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE
WHICH WENT SAT OPTIONAL A FEW YEARS AGO, TO FIND OUT MORE.
>> THERE'S BEEN A NATIONAL TREND TO GET AWAY FROM THE
SAT'S, I THINK A LOT OF SCHOOLS LIKE OURSELVES AND
SPRINGFIELD, WE ARE HESITANT TO DO SO, BECAUSE IT'S A GREAT
INDICATOR OR HAD BEEN KNOWN TO BE A GREAT INDICATER TO ASSESS
STUDENTS AND HOW THEY CAN PERFORM IN THE CLASSROOM,
TAKING OUT LOCATIONS AND HIGH SCHOOLS AND DIFFERENT
FACTORS.
AND SO WHEN WE LOOKED AT IT, WE DID A LOT OF RESEARCH, AND
WE LOOKED AT OUR CONSULTING COMPANIES WE WORKED WITH, WE
WORKED WITH A LOT OF COLLEGE DATA THAT WAS AVAILABLE BY OUR
NATIONAL ACCREDITING BODIES AND SOME REGIONAL GROUPS WE
WORKED WITH.
AND WHAT THEY WERE FINDING, IT WASN'T ALWAYS AN INDICATOR OF
BETTER PERFORMANCE IN COLLEGE.
WE MET AS A GROUP AND SAID, WHAT ARE AIC STUDENTS DOING.
IS IT AN INDICATOR AND A FACTOR FOR OUR STUDENTS TO BE
SUCCESSFUL.
WE LOOKED BACK AT YEARS WORTH OF DATA.
WHAT IT CAME DOWN TO WAS THAT AIC STUDENTS IN GENERAL, THE
SAT'S WERE NOT AN INDICATOR OF SUCCESS.
THAT THE GPA WAS MUCH MORE INDICATIVE OF HOW A STUDENT
WOULD DO IN COLLEGE THAN THE SAT'S.
AFTER MUCH DISCUSSION INTERNALLY, WE DECIDED TO
FOREGO SAT'S.
>> IT WAS IN 2017, THE INCOMING CLASS?
>> THE INCOMING CLASS, CORRECT.
>> SO SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE, YOU RECENTLY MADE THIS DECISION
FOR THE INCOMING CLASS OF 2020.
>> 2020.
>> WAS IT SIMILAR REASONING?
>> YES, VERY MUCH SO.
WE PARALLEL A LOT WITH AIC IN THE SCOPE OF THE WORK THAT WE
DID TO RESEARCH OVER THREE YEARS.
TO LOOK AT THE NATIONAL TRENDS, WHY WERE COLLEGES
DISMISSING OR MAKING IT BECOME TEST OPTIONAL FOR STUDENTS TO
DO.
WITH OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, WE WANT TO -- LIKE MANY COLLEGES,
WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING WE DO IS MISSION
FOCUSED AND VALUE BASED AND BECAME CONCERNED ABOUT THE
GROWING TREND OF WHY COLLEGES WERE DOING AWAY.
I AGREE ABSOLUTELY WITH CARRY, THE RESEARCH POINTS TO
SOMETIMES THE TEST IS VERY -- IT DISADVANTAGES STUDENTS,
ESPECIALLY UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS.
WE, LIKE AIC, WANT TO BE A COLLEGE THAT'S EQUAL
OPPORTUNITY.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE OUR DOORS ARE OPEN TO ANY STUDENT WHO
REALLY DOES HAVE THE ABILITY TO SUCCEED AT COLLEGE, WE FELT
LIKE, AFTER MUCH RESEARCH, THE TESTS REALLY WERE NOT THE BEST
INDICATOR OF A STUDENT'S POTENTIAL SUCCESS IN THE
CLASSROOM.
THE GPA REALLY IS AND WHAT WE CALL NONCOGNITIVE VARIABLES,
LIKE A WRITTEN ESSAY OR ADMISSIONS INTERVIEW ARE FAR
MORE IMPORTANT LOOKING AT A STUDENT.
WE FOLLOWED SUIT AFTER A NATIONAL TREND, APPROXIMATELY,
ACCORDING TO FAIR TEST, APPROXIMATELY 40 PERCENT OF
COLLEGES NOW, FOUR-YEAR COLLEGES ACROSS THE COUNTRY
HAVE DONE THIS.
WE MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT LATE TO THE GAME, IT WAS IMPORTANT
FOR US TO COME TO THAT LEVELING OF THE PLAYING FIELD
FOR STUDENTS.
>> I KNOW NOT JUST KIDS MIGHT HAVE A LEARNING DISABILITY OR
LOW INCOME OR DISADVANTAGED IN ANY WAY, TEST-TAKING FOR SO
MANY PEOPLE IS JUST SO NERVE-RACKING AND PEOPLE GO IN
WITH THE HIGH ANXIETY.
THEY'LL HAVE A 4.2GPA AND JUST BOMB THAT SAT.
>> WE HAVE SEEN IT'S FOR YEARS IT'S BEEN FRUSTRATING FOR
STUDENTS AND PARENTS.
I'M SURE YOU'VE BEEN HEARING THAT.
>> ABSOLUTELY.
YOU CAN CHIME IN ON THIS TOO.
IT'S NOT ALWAYS THE BEST INDICATOR, ALL RESEARCH SHOWS
THAT FOUR YEARS OF HIGH SCHOOL, PERFORMANCE
ACADEMICALLY IN THE CLASSROOM IS THE BEST INDICATOR WITH A
STUDENT.
>> ONE TEST AND SPEND ALL DAY.
>> THREE HOURS.
>> ON THE STUDYING.
HOW DO YOU STRIP DOWN THE GPA.
FROM SCHOOL TO SCHOOL, IF YOU HAVE KIDS APPLYING FROM ALL
OVER THE COUNTRY, 4.2 IN ONE SPOT MIGHT NOT MEAN THE SAME
THING IN ANOTHER LOCATION.
LARGELY BECAUSE SOME SCHOOLS OFFER MORE AP CLASSES FROM THE
GET-GO AT FRESHMAN YEAR, SOME SCHOOLS DON'T.
>> WE DO A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT CALCULATIONS IN OUR
OFFICE.
WE'LL LOOK AT THE WEIGHTED GPA WHICH INCLUDES THE A AND AND
HONORS COURSES.
WE LOOK AT UNWEIGHTED GPA AND DO TREND ANALYSIS, A STUDENT
COMING IN WHO MAY HAVE HAD SOME ISSUES IN THEIR EARLY
YEARS IN HIGH SCHOOL, BUT BY JUNIOR OR SENIOR YEAR, THEY
ARE REALLY BUCKLING DOWN, PULLING IT TOGETHER, THEY MAY
HAVE AN OVERALL GPA OF A 2.5, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT
TO LOOK AT TREND ANALYSIS.
SO WE'LL DO AN ANALYSIS OF THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, MANY
COLLEGES REQUIRE FOR STUDENTS TO COMPLETE A SET GROUPING OF
CORE COURSES, FOUR ENGLISHES, 3 TO 4 SCIENCES, COUPLE OF LAB
SCIENCES, DEPENDING ON THE PROGRAM, IT MAY DETERMINE WHAT
IS ROCKY MOUNTAINED FOR A STUDENT COMING IN.
WE DO A CORE ANALYSIS.
SO OUR ADMISSIONS TEAM, THEY ARE GOOD AT EXCEL, AND THEY'RE
REALLY GOOD AT GPA CALCULATIONS, WE ARE TRYING TO
GET A WHOLE PICTURE OF HOW THE STUDENT WILL BE SUCCESSFUL.
WHEN IN THE PAST WE DID ONE OR TWO CALCULATIONS, NOW WE DO
MANY MORE.
>> THE SAT'S WILL BE REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN MAJORS, TELL US
ABOUT THOSE MAJORS AND WHY YOU THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO
KEEP THAT TEST IN PLACE?
>> IT'S IMPORTANT FOR ACCREDITING OR LICENSURE
PURPOSES.
ACCREDITING BODIES WILL REQUIRE US, LIKE IN THE HEALTH
SCIENCES PROGRAM, WHICH WE ARE WELL KNOWN FOR, PHYSICIANS
ASSISTANT, PHYSICAL THERAPY, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY, ATHLETIC
TRAINING AND LICENSURE, TEACHER EDUCATION, ALL OF
THOSE ACCREDITING BODIES AND LICENSURE PROCESSES STILL ARE
GOING TO REQUIRE THAT WE AS AN INSTITUTION SUBMIT OR HAVE
STUDENTS SUBMIT THE SAT AND ACT.
THAT'S WHY WE HAVE TO CONTINUE WITH THOSE FIVE PROGRAMS.
>> SOME PEOPLE MIGHT SAY, TOO, LISTEN, I KNOW IT'S HARD TO
TAKE THE SAT'S, BUT YOU JUST HAVE TO TOUGHEN UP ABOUT IT.
LIFE IS ABOUT TESTING, YOU HAVE TO GET OVER IT.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO SOMEONE WHO SAYS IT'S A BAD IDEA TO
TAKE THAT OFF THE TABLE?
>> ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE TO CLARIFY ABOUT BECOMING TEST
OPTIONAL IS THE WORD UNDERSCORED, WE WILL ENCOURAGE
AND OUR WEBSITE EXPLAINS AND COMMUNICATES, STUDENTS ARE
WELCOME TO SUBMIT TEST SCORES, IF THEY'VE TAKEN THEM, MOST
WILL TAKE IT, THEY MAY FEEL REALLY PROUD THAT IS A GREAT
INDICATOR OF THEIR ACADEMIC ABILITY BECAUSE THEIR GPA
MIGHT NOT SHINE AS BRIGHTLY.
TEST SCORES ARE BRILLIANT, GPA NOT, SO WE WILL ENCOURAGE THEM
TO SUBMIT THEM AND WILL CONSIDER TEST SCORES IF A
STUDENT WANTS US TO.
WE BELIEVE FIRMLY NOW, WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT, GPA IS
THE BEST INDICATOR OF A STUDENTS'S POTENTIAL IN
COLLEGE.
>> WE THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE LOST FAITH IN THE SYSTEM
IN A CERTAIN DEGREE BECAUSE OF THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SCAM.
EVERYBODY KNOWS TAKING THE SAT'S, UNLESS YOU'RE THAT KID
WHO JUST HAD -- WHAT CAN JUST TAKE IT IS REALLY HARD, I
THINK WHEN PEOPLE LOOK AT APPLYING TO COLLEGE, IT CAN BE
OVERWHELMING FOR PARENTS, BUT ESPECIALLY FOR STUDENTS AS
WELL.
THIS KIND OF TAKES THAT OFF THE TABLE AND STRIPS DOWN KIND
OF WHERE THE KIDS ARE REALLY AT ACADEMICALLY, CORRECT?
>> IT ABSOLUTELY DOES.
I THINK THAT BOTH OF OUR INSTITUTIONS, SPRINGFIELD AND
AIC OUR ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO BE A SUCCESS, NOBODY FINDS JOY IN
A STUDENT NOT BEING SUCCESSFUL IN COLLEGE, THAT'S NOT WHY WE
DO WHAT WE DO, WE FIND JOY ON SATURDAY FOR US AT GRADUATION,
I'LL BE SITTING ON STAGE AND BEING FILLED WITH SO MUCH
EMOTION AND EXCITEMENT FOR OUR STUDENTS WALKING ACROSS THE
STAGE.
I THINK IF WE CAN TAKE A BURDEN OFF A STUDENT WHICH
REALLY WASN'T A FACTOR FOR INSTITUTIONS FOR SUCCESS, THEN
WE SHOULD DO THAT.
IT'S IMPORTANT.
SO I THINK THAT YOU'LL SEE MORE AND MORE SCHOOLS DOING
THAT THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
>> HUNDREDS OF SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, I THINK YOU SAID
40 PERCENT, WHICH IS REALLY INTERESTING.
>> FAIR TEST.ORG, THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION THAT TALKS ABOUT
SAT AND ACT, IS ESTIMATING OVER 1,000 NOW, THERE ARE 2500
FOUR-YEAR INSTITUTIONS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
IT IS ABSOLUTELY A GROWING TREND, FOR SURE.