Tufts looks to redesign college admissions

While high school seniors are months away from submitting their college applications, the perennial debate over the role of standardized testing in college admissions is raging hotter than ever thanks to a recent decision by Tufts University.

Starting this fall, the Medford, Mass., school plans on introducing a pilot program in which its application's essay questions aim on testing the types of knowledge that can't be measured by tests like the SAT.

"Tests such as the SAT or ACT measure memory and analytical skills, but they do not measure creative, practical or wisdom-related skills," said Robert Sternberg, the school's dean of arts and sciences whose research provided the impetus behind the move. "Research shows that the latter sets of skills are important in school and life."

The pilot program will involve giving random students the option of either having to draw an advertisement for a new product or writing an optional essay.

Examples of sample essay questions include speculating how history would have changed had a certain famous event turned out differently or having to write a story off a creative title.

Once results are analyzed, Tufts administrators will evaluate how useful these activities are.

Sternberg's sentiments are reflected in the opinions of some students, who view the personal essay as one of the most useful parts of the college application process.

"I think that the essays are an essential part of the application process," said Hilary Malson, a rising high school senior at the National Cathedral School in Washington. The essays "give the story of the person behind the test scores and the transcript."

Many students also question the ability of a standardized test like the SAT to accurately predict college success.

"No one gets into Penn with low SAT scores, yet people obviously make low grades here," said College sophomore Rahima Dosani. "This dichotomy is a direct reflection of the inadequacy of the SAT score to predict college academic success."

The College Board, the not-for-profit organization which manages the SAT, disputes that point.

"The SAT is a common yardstick, since it's hard to know what advanced physics means in Trenton, N.J. versus Princeton, N.J.," said Amy Schmidt, the College Board's executive director of higher-education research.

"We work closely with colleges and collect data, and we found that when used together with high school grades, the SAT is a good predictor of freshman year scores," she added.

For many colleges and universities with large applicant pools, SAT scores and high school GPAs can often be two practical admissions components that can be looked at quickly and easily.

Critics of the test, however, believe that the SAT provides a perspective on aptitude that's too limited.

"I agree that [the SAT] is one way to assess students, but standardized test scores mean different things for different populations," said Sternberg, the Tufts dean.

For many colleges and universities with large applicant pools, SAT scores and high school GPA's can often be two of the few practical admissions components.

Most critics of the test, however, believe that the SAT provides only a limited perspective on the meaning of aptitude.

"I agree that [the SAT] is one way to assess students, but standardized test scores mean different things for different populations," said Sternberg.

When used in conjunction with the SAT, Tufts' new application will attempt to address the widest range of students' abilities possible.

Penn has no such plans to alter its admissions policies, said Lee Stetson, dean of admissions.

"I was very interested in the Tufts initiative, and I give them great credit for looking beyond the normal boundaries of the admissions process," he said. "However, we feel that the process we have and the criteria we use is working quite well."

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