SAT-only college admissions would hamper diversity

In a climate swirling with debate about college admissions standards, a new study finds that basing the process entirely on test scores would fill the 200 most selective colleges with more white and advantaged students. Using data from students who graduated high school in 2013, researchers from Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) found a test-only admissions policy would raise those colleges' share of white students from 66% to 75%, while diminishing the share of black and Latino students from 19% to 11% and Asian students from 11% to 10%.  More than half (53%) of the students attending such schools would be replaced if they switched to test-only admissions policies. Of that group, roughly half would come from families in the top income quartile. The report's authors say their findings provide more evidence in favor of a holistic and transparent college admissions process.  "In the wake of the college admissions scandal, our thought experiment tested whether removing legacy and social capital from the admissions equation would have a more equitable outcome," said Anthony Carnevale, CEW's director and the report's lead author, said in a statement. "But a test-only admissions policy would only further privilege in the higher education system."