MIT Has Not Lost Its Collective Mind

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Because of the pandemic, MIT, like many schools, suspended standardized testing requirements for admission, reports James Freeman in the WSJ:

Continuing Engineering Excellence

But unlike too many elite colleges, MIT is now restoring this important element in a rigorous selection process.

From MIT’s Stuart Schmill, Dean of Admissions and Student Financial Services:

Everything we do in our process is grounded by our goal to find and admit students who will succeed at MIT and serve the world afterward. 

After careful consideration, we have decided to reinstate our SAT/ACT requirement for future admissions cycles.

MIT Restores Stability, Objectivity

Harvard, MIT’s neighbor, is using Covid as an excuse to make standardized tests optional for applicants to its undergraduate college for years to come, continues Mr. Freeman:

MIT is charting a different course and restoring an important ingredient for academic success.

For those who fear that subjective judgments by college administrators will limit admissions to the demographically correct, the woke, the wealthy and the well-connected, the excellent news is that at least one great institution still sees a place for objective standards.

Mr. Schmill refutes the idea that standardized testing prevents underprivileged students from gaining admission:

… standardized tests… help us identify academically prepared, socioeconomically disadvantaged students who could not otherwise demonstrate readiness because they do not attend schools that offer advanced coursework, cannot afford expensive enrichment opportunities, cannot expect lengthy letters of recommendation from their overburdened teachers, or are otherwise hampered by educational inequalities.

This may seem like a counterintuitive claim to some, given the widespread understanding that performance on the SAT/ACT is correlated with socioeconomic status. Research indeed shows some correlation, but unfortunately, research also shows correlations hold for just about every other factor admissions officers can consider…the predictive validity of these tests for MIT, coupled with their ability to identify (some) students who would not otherwise be ‘picked up’ by other indicators, means that we are able to use them to help diversify our class more than if we did not consider them.