Three years have passed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and many changes have occurred since then, from medical advancements to how we socialize. In schools, some changes during COVID, like virtual learning, have been eliminated, while others, like new standardized testing protocols, remain in place. Our views on standardized testing have evolved greatly in the past few years, but what is the future of standardized testing now that things are mostly back to normal?

Many colleges and universities have reshaped their image to be more holistic and all-encompassing by going “test-optional,” giving applicants the option to choose whether or not to submit their SAT and ACT scores. The question I pose, however, is whether or not students will continue to submit their scores even with this new policy?

 I conducted a poll among the Mount Greylock senior class to see how many of them are choosing to go test-optional or not. While all 20 respondents affirmed that the schools they are applying to are test optional, 45% said they are still submitting scores. Of these 20 students who responded, 16 are in AP English Literature, and four are in Honors English 12. While many students dislike having to take these tests, it is telling that so many people still decided to submit their test scores. In order for a practice to truly be obsolete, we need to reduce the social pressure to take exams and the values of the scores themselves.

Students are not entirely to blame, though. If I had a dollar for every time an admissions counselor has told me that their admissions are actually holistic, and they see students as more than a number, I would not need financial aid. Many schools see the absence of scores as something that is lacking, or even to be desired. 

For example, at one college visit, the counselor showed a pie chart depicting how test scores are weighted as part of the applications when they are not submitted. With these applications, they look closer at the other parts of the application, seeing if the rest makes up for a lack of test scores. 

In order to consider test scores to be obsolete, we would need to eliminate testing completely. Otherwise, schools will continue to search for scores. Even if scores are optional, students will still devote time and money to a system that we already realize is flawed. There are much better ways to gauge a person’s academic abilities than by test scores, and I believe testing should be a thing of the past entirely.