Major universities across the US are dropping the idea of admitting students on the basis of standardized tests.
These came after some serious allegations were made that these tests discriminate against the people coming from the poor economic background and BAME (Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic) communities.
Now, several civil rights organizations have come up together urging the University of California(UC) to drop the use of standardized tests and threatened to sue if this is not done quickly.
This comes after UC appointed a committee to study the need for the ACT or SAT scores for admission of new students. The committee will further recommend the changes to be made accordingly. Either these standardized tests will be completely eliminated or some changes would be made in the tests.
However, the report is set to be presented in the spring session next year. Civil rights organizations believe that UC should not wait for these reports till next year and should pose an immediate ban on these tests otherwise they will be filing a lawsuit in the court.
According to one of the lawyers, tests are not just a sign of bad policy but are also completely wrong. The lawsuit will be filed on the basis that these tests are heavily biased against Black, African-American, Hispanic and low-income students.
The coalition further plans to change to the policy of California State University as well. However, they believe if they can get UC to drop SAT/ACT scores, they can easily persuade CSU to do the same.
UC task force working on standardized tests
In return, a spokesperson for the UC told the reporters that there will be no immediate action from the university’s side, neither against the ultimatum nor against the lawsuit The faculty task force is working diligently on the issue and the further steps will be taken on the recommendations by of the task force.
The UC does not want to simply dump the standardized tests like SATs. Rather, they want to innovate other alternatives so that the system can be more neutral to everyone. Ultimately, the UC’s decision will impact more than 176,000 students who apply each year for admission.
The SAT has a Stronger Vocabulary Focus, While the ACT Tests Advanced Math and Science. Vocabulary is weighted much more strongly on the SAT than it is on the ACT, with many questions designed to take several reads to understand.
