Tell us: Harvard reinstated standardized testing. Do you agree?
Students applying to Harvard College for fall 2025 admission will be required to submit standardized test scores. Do you agree?
Harvard College has reinstated its standardized testing requirement and will require applicants to submit standardized test scores for next year’s admissions cycle.
Students applying to Harvard College for fall 2025 admission will be required to submit standardized test scores, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences announced on Thursday. The new policy will be applied to the Class of 2029 admissions cycle.
Critics of requiring standardized testing argue the tests are biased toward higher-income students who are more likely to be able to afford expensive test prep classes and have access to more educational opportunities.
Hopi Hoekstra, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard, said in a statement that standardized tests help colleges find talent from across socioeconomic levels and provide valuable information about an applicant’s potential success in college.
“Standardized tests are a means for all students, regardless of their background and life experience, to provide information that is predictive of success in college and beyond,” she said, adding that “more information, especially such strongly predictive information, is valuable for identifying talent from across the socioeconomic range.”
In the announcement, the college cited a working paper published last year by the National Bureau of Economic Research that looked at socioeconomic diversity and admissions. In the research, standardized tests were found to be highly predictive of post-college success.
“The three key factors that give children from high-income families an admissions advantage are uncorrelated or negatively correlated with post-college outcomes, whereas SAT/ACT scores and academic credentials are highly predictive of post-college success,” the researchers wrote. “Highly selective private colleges currently amplify the persistence of privilege across generations, but could diversify the socioeconomic backgrounds of America’s leaders by changing their admissions practices.”
A majority of Massachusetts schools remain test-optional, although Massachusetts Institute of Technology was among several high-profile schools to adopt, then reverse their test-optional policies. Other schools, like Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Stonehill College, have launched “test-blind” pilot programs, meaning admissions officers will not look at test scores.
Hoekstra said students applying to Harvard who cannot access the SAT or ACT will be able to submit alternative test options.
Do you agree with Harvard’s decision to reinstate standardized testing?
Do you think the decision will impact students from different socioeconomic backgrounds? If you’re a student, what do you make of the requirement?
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