Affirmative Action. Is Test-Optional the way?

In 2018, there was a 31% racial disparity between the White and Hispanic students enrolled in UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles). In the same year Texas A&M stretched that gap to 61%. These statistics are discouraging but reasonable, as Hispanic students are largely a minority throughout the United States. But seeing as the racial distribution in these specific areas are an approximate 50/50 split, where the Hispanic population in Los Angeles is the majority, these numbers become baffling.

In recent years, Political Progressives took notice of the larger inequality that statistics like these represented. Bringing the college admissions system back into the conversation of racial inequity for underrepresented groups. College admissions began to practice affirmative action in order to close that gap. Admitting qualified underrepresented minorities in place of the numerous White and Asian students that normally overtake the student make-up, admission numbers for minorities slowly rose. However, it became apparent that accepting a few more underrepresented applicants to meet a quota did little to address the deep cutting issues that plagued these admission systems. It seemed that structural changes to the college admission process must be pursued in order to make any lasting steps towards closing that gap. Luckily, or not so luckily, it turned out that change fell right into our laps. 

Out of Dire Circumstances Comes Change

At the turn of the decade, the Corona Virus Outbreak caused major unrest across the entire world. With quarantine precautions and safety policies to follow, education systems had to take a hit with the rest of the country in order to ensure the safety of its students. With some major tests like AP exams being moved online, and others like the SAT being canceled entirely. It seemed that the status quo of college admissions were in flux. A simple solution in these dire times came about in the form of the “Test-Optional” policy. Taken on by most major colleges and universities, the test-optional policy made it so seniors who weren’t given the opportunity to take the SAT or ACT test due to COVID cancellations still had a fair shot at college admissions even without those major standardized tests. But as the virus slowly diminished and cases waned, it seemed some universities liked the idea of allowing test optional policies to stick around. Statistically it seemed that most minorities, excluding Asians, largely underperformed in SAT scores, which definitely added to the numerous reasons minorities have always been minuscule in admission numbers. But thanks to a test-optional policy, it seemed like another barrier for minorities and students from low-income families had been lifted. As colleges take their stance either to keep or to lose their test optional policies, it would only be fair to look at the data and understand the impact this policy change had, and if it still has a place in the future of college admissions.

The Big Picture

The major claim leveled by the proponents of the continued utilization of test-optional policies has been stated: there is a clear need to address the racial and income level disparity in college admissions. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the racial and income gap in both test scores and admissions was far greater than what logically should be the case. Examining the numerous studies done by the IPEDS (the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System), it can be determined the SAT scores among Asian and White students average out to approximately 1170 which is above the average overall score of 1060. While SAT scores among African American and Hispanic students average out to approximately 950. In 2018, Texas A&M’s enrollment demographic had a very strong white majority. White students made up more than 50% of both the entire class size along with the class ranked top 10% students. Despite Hispanic people made up the majority of the state’s population, at a quantity of 10% greater than the white population, which painted a pretty clear picture of the wild inequality at play. Taking those pieces of data and cross referencing it with acceptance rates by income painted an ever clearer picture. In 2018, high income white students made up more than three times the number of Hispanic students while low income Hispanic students failed to make up even double the number of white students. It was undeniable that these issues were persistent, but faced with the burden of proving or disproving the claim that Test Optional policies could have any impact on college admissions; it seemed best to let the numbers speak for themselves.

Let the Numbers Speak

Comparing numbers prior to and after the incorporation of “Test-Optional” policies (2018 vs. 2021) in specific schools yielded positive results for the pro-Test Optional claim. Studying enrollment demographics of Texas A&M showed the total white student enrollment in their College Station campus of 36,122 (2018) rise to 36,261 (2021), approximately a 0.4% increase, while the number of Hispanic students enrolled in College Station went from 13,777 (2018) to 15,042 (2021), approximately an 8% increase. That is 1,265 more Hispanic scholars accepted than the prior 3 years. Furthermore, looking into other colleges such as NYU (New York University) and UCLA showed statistically significant positive change. Racial equality in opportunity seems to have been actively addressed, but there was no way the entire system would be perfect. Closer observation of acceptance and enrollment demographics based on level of annual income revealed that these changes that have been closing the gap were due purely to the efforts of selective affirmative action rather than the shift to test-optional.

In 2021, families with annual incomes lower than 80 thousand dollars had nearly double the number of Hispanic students enrolled compared to white students. Looking at families with annual incomes of 80 thousand and above conveyed how the number of white students enrolled added up to a number greater than double the Hispanic students and a majority of those enrolled that year. It seemed the numbers increasingly tipped in favor of opponents of “Test-Optional” admissions. Continued research led to the conclusion that the overall trend led away from diversity in economic background, which is why “Test Optional” proponents treat diminutive data of the racial gap closing as a major upheaval. While positive change gradually occurred through affirmative action, overarching data represented the same conclusion. There truly was no debate in the continued support of Test-Optional policies; arguments over whether it could theoretically work were never practically appropriate in the current state of affairs.

What’s Going On?

Why was the race gap the only instance of major disparity dwindling when low income families were still the most marginalized and underrepresented in the collegiate scene? Looking at the year by year trends, it became apparent that the reason for this drop in enrollment wasn’t because of the failed implementation of “Test Optional” policies as the focused research suggested. The culprit of the current trend is the instance of major economic slowdown due to the Coronavirus Outbreak, which was compounded with preposterous raises in the cost of tuition as colleges became more expensive and still do to this day. But that is an issue that relies not on the actions of the fine people at college admissions, but rather the Board of Education tasked with determining tuition.

As we’ve seen, progress is underway. Whether or not Test-Optional policies are negligible or necessary, it seems that the argument over such a trivial stance ultimately takes away from addressing the much more prominent issues plaguing our education systems. In the past 4 years, college tuitions have seen a 33% percent increase in cost, starkly juxtaposing the 17% increase that should have been observed due to already unhealthy levels of inflation. It is evident that admissions are designed so only the wealthiest can make up the majority of a university’s demographic and the quality of education afforded to students isn’t based on hard work or ethics but rather being a more desirable race for statistics that colleges can proudly display or sheepishly hide in the back of their websites. This stain on the American Dream, where colleges value their financial greed over the morals that these schools are built upon and are supposed to support hardworking students, have failed each and every one of them. These issues persist and perpetuate in a state that may not change, but while its impacts were scarcely felt, the introduction of “Test Optional” policies did propose a key question. How can we fix this?