Earlier today, I saw a Twitter post from the Georgetown University Center on Education & the Workforce regarding their publication – The Merit Myth: How Our Colleges Favor the Rich and Divide America. I just bought this book, but have not read it yet. But, after reading the summary materials, I agree with the premise on which it is written – that our colleges and universities must do more to provide access to all, across socioeconomic class, race, zip codes, etc. One area in particular that struck me today is the assertion that we must end the over-reliance on standardized testing for admissions. The bias against low income and minoritized students in these exams is real. I believe we must devalue or remove standardized testing as a factor. High school GPA is by far the best predictor of success in the first year of college. GPA in the first year of college is the best predictor of continued success.
I have seen many students with high SAT/ACT scores and middling GPAs fail to thrive in college. And I have worked with countless numbers of students who were admitted with weak ACT scores and strong GPAs thrive and achieve the goal of a degree. Why? GPA, regardless of the school, is an indicator of grit, of a willingness to do the work to be successful.
I have worked with students who matriculated from community college into my degree program when I was faculty at U of TN who had ACT scores that were abysmal (one < 15 and they went on to complete a MS degree). These students did the work in the CC, then transferred into UT, and thrived.
The use of standardized exams for admission to graduate schools is also under examination. A 2014 article in Nature – A Test that Fails – posited that the GRE as a tool for admissions is not effective at predicting success and restricts the enrollment of minorities and women into the sciences. I currently serve as Director of Soil Science Graduate Programs at NC State University, and we had a faculty discussion on this issue this past October. We unanimously agreed to remove the GRE as a requirement for admission into our MS and PhD programs. This is one step towards diversifying our student body and making a degree in soil science more accessible.
Higher education is, or should be, about the building of human capital. We should be breaking down the barriers to access. And we must work to make navigating the path to a degree more straightforward. Simply admitting students from all demographics is not enough – we must also work to provide a sense of belonging for all. And, we need to meet students where they are. Our four-year completion dogma does not work for all. Lets find a way to make a degree, or other certifications, flexible and affordable.
We simply must make higher education more accessible, more affordable, and easier to navigate. We must use our institutions to truly drive social mobility, not merit.
