The role of standardized admission tests in the debate about merit, academic standards, and affirmative action.

Abstract

This article examines two issues in the debate about affirmative action in higher education admission—merit and academic standards—from the perspective of the role of standardized testing in both fueling and informing that debate. The discussion includes summaries of selected affirmative action litigation cases in which test scores were central to the complaint and/or the defense, an evaluation of test-score use in the admission process, and a presentation of alternatives to standardized test scores for admissions. Attention is focused on the potential impact of those alternatives on diversity as well as on academic standards and merit. The article concludes with explication of current challenges to the testing community. Primary among these is the need to articulate meaningful measures of relevant admission factors that go beyond test scores and grades. Test theory and technology are capable or near capable of supporting a more comprehensive system to assess multiple factors, moving admission testing from the single test score to a battery or profile of strengths and weaknesses among applicants.