New Study Shows Broad Approval of Test-Optional Policies

New qualitative research shows that students who were admitted through test-optional admissions—and their professors—generally don’t feel underqualified to attend their institutions, despite claims otherwise from those who oppose the policies.

The team led by Julie Park, a professor of education at the University of Maryland, College Park, and a leading researcher of college admissions, interviewed 57 students, as well as faculty, admissions staff and other stakeholders from two anonymous selective public universities that had test-optional policies when the data was collected. One, dubbed “Southern University” in the report, has since returned to requiring test scores.

“We were really trying to understand how it was affecting students’ experiences, both during the application process, but also on the ground, after the point of enrollment,” Park said. “I think our findings provide a counternarrative to that dominant narrative that test optional is resulting in all these unqualified students who can’t handle college. By and large the students said, ‘We did fine.’ Even staff members were like, ‘They did fine.’ Even if they experienced challenges, in the end they were able to get the support they needed.”

The report comes roughly six years after colleges and universities across the country suspended test requirements amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the majority of colleges remain test optional, some have returned to requiring test scores, including all but one Ivy League institution and some flagship universities, such as the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Georgia. Park’s team collected the data in early 2025.

Since 2020, some institutions have published studies indicating standardized test scores are predictors of academic performance, while reports from other institutions show the opposite. Similarly, research has shown that test-optional admissions can lead to more diverse classes, but some admissions leaders have said that testing requirements can lead them to admit disadvantaged students who otherwise may have flown under their radar.

The report’s authors say that their findings point toward the benefits of maintaining test-optional policies, especially at public institutions, which have a responsibility to expand access to higher education in their state.

“Test-optional admissions can help expand opportunity for a wide range of students. Students reported test-optional increasing their sense of confidence in applying to institutions. In some cases, students applied to more institutions because of the ability to apply without test scores,” the report reads.

Students who didn’t submit test scores noted a number of reasons for their decision, including not having the time or resources to study for the exams. Some also said that counselors and family members discouraged them from submitting unimpressive scores. (Park noted that the number of students who took an admissions test but didn’t submit their scores and the number who simply didn’t take any tests were about equal.)

Admissions officers at Southern University, which has since reinstated its testing requirement, said they saw the test-optional policy as beneficial. They noted that the policy was only reversed due to pressure from the institution’s board, who wanted to follow the Ivy League’s lead.

“I know our administration really does like to have a high average ACT and SAT that we can tout in our press releases and things like that … But I don’t know how much understanding they have of how the scores really work and how they can disadvantage certain students,” one midlevel admissions professional told the researchers.

Faculty members at the institutions were more likely to be critical of test-optional policies. Many said they supported the policies due to the historical bias of standardized tests and how they disadvantage students without access to test-preparation resources, but others said that despite their flaws, the tests could be useful for evaluating students. One professor noted that studying for standardized tests helps students with their math, vocabulary and recall skills.

Michael Bastedo, professor of education at the University of Michigan, said that the results are consistent with what admissions professionals typically hear from families.

“Most families seem to like having the autonomy to make that decision after they know what the test scores are going to be. Some faculty are definitely less enthusiastic, especially faculty in STEM, and admissions deans hear from them pretty regularly about going back to required testing,” he wrote in an email to Inside Higher Ed.

“The impact of test-optional policies on student success is still a pretty open question,” he added. “There seem to be a really wide range of outcomes depending on the institution. At Michigan, we didn’t see big differences in success between submitters and non-submitters, but that’s not always the story. Institutions really need to be studying this on a case-by-case basis.”