🏫 School and everyday · Intermediate · Policy resolution

Resolved: Selective colleges should require applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores.

Many colleges went test-optional during the pandemic; some, like Dartmouth and MIT, have brought requirements back. Should selective colleges require scores?

Background

During the COVID-19 pandemic, most selective colleges stopped requiring SAT or ACT scores. Since then, some have reinstated requirements. Dartmouth announced in February 2024 that it would require scores again, citing its own study that scores predicted academic success at Dartmouth better than high school grades and that test-optional policies had led some disadvantaged applicants with strong scores not to submit them. MIT had already reinstated its requirement. [1]

Research disagrees about what predicts college success best. Opportunity Insights at Harvard found test scores predicted college performance at highly selective colleges better than high school grades, while also finding that wealthier students were far more likely to have very high scores. A 2020 study of about 55,000 Chicago Public Schools graduates (Allensworth and Clark) found high school GPA predicted college graduation about five times better than ACT scores, and that the ACT’s predictive power varied from school to school. [1][2]

Where the facts themselves are disputed

Which predicts college success better, grades or test scores?

  • Studies at highly selective colleges (Dartmouth, Opportunity Insights) find test scores add predictive power beyond grades, especially as grade inflation grows.
  • Studies across broader groups of colleges (such as Allensworth and Clark’s Chicago study) find GPA predicts graduation better, and scores vary in meaning by high school.

Key terms

Test-optional
Applicants may choose whether to submit scores.
Test-required
All applicants must submit scores (sometimes with exceptions).
Test-blind
The college doesn’t consider scores even if submitted.
Predictive validity
How well a measure forecasts later outcomes, such as college grades or graduation.
Grade inflation
A rise in average grades without a matching rise in learning, which makes grades less informative.

Both sides at their strongest

Each argument is written the way its best advocates would make it, followed by the strongest answer from the other side. Use them to build your case and to prepare for the other one.

Affirmative

A common, objective measure helps selective colleges find talented students, including those from less advantaged backgrounds.

  1. A1 Test scores add information grades can’t.

    Why High schools grade differently, and grade inflation compresses many students at the top. A common test lets colleges compare applicants on the same scale.

    Evidence Dartmouth’s 2024 internal study; Opportunity Insights research on selective colleges; College Board and ACT validity studies.

    Best answer The negative replies that broader studies (Allensworth and Clark) find GPA predicts graduation better, and test scores vary in meaning by school.

  2. A2 Requiring scores can help disadvantaged applicants.

    Why Under test-optional rules, some students from under-resourced schools with good scores don’t submit them, not knowing their scores would stand out in context.

    Evidence Dartmouth’s finding that many applicants who would have benefited didn’t submit, and that under-resourced applicants with a 1400 were twice as likely to be admitted as others with the same score.

    Best answer The negative answers that colleges can encourage submission without requiring it, and that requirements still deter students who can’t access test prep.

  3. A3 Without tests, other factors favor the wealthy even more.

    Why If scores aren’t used, colleges lean more on essays, recommendations and activities, which wealthier families can polish with paid help.

    Evidence Dartmouth’s argument that test-optional policies shift weight to counselor recommendations; research on extracurricular advantages of high-income students.

    Best answer The negative replies that test scores themselves track family income closely, so tests don’t remove the advantage.

  4. A4 Tests help colleges place and support students.

    Why Knowing a student’s math and reading level helps advisers place them in the right courses and offer help early.

    Evidence College placement research; university reports on using scores for advising.

    Best answer The negative argues placement tests after admission do this better, without affecting who gets in.

Negative

Colleges should be free to judge applicants without required tests, which reflect advantage as much as ability.

  1. N1 High school grades predict college graduation better.

    Why Grades reflect years of effort, persistence and study habits, which matter for finishing college, while one test day captures a narrower set of skills.

    Evidence Allensworth and Clark (2020), Educational Researcher: GPA predicted graduation about five times better than ACT scores among Chicago graduates.

    Best answer The affirmative answers that this study covered a broad group of colleges; at highly selective colleges, scores add power beyond grades.

  2. N2 Scores reflect family advantages.

    Why Wealthier students can pay for prep courses and retake tests, so scores partly measure opportunity rather than talent.

    Evidence Opportunity Insights finding the wealthiest applicants far more likely to score 1500 or higher; College Board data on scores by family income.

    Best answer The affirmative replies that the same research found low-income students with the same scores did just as well in college, so scores still identify talent.

  3. N3 Requirements can discourage good applicants.

    Why Students who test poorly or can’t afford tests may not apply at all, shrinking the pool before admissions officers see them.

    Evidence Application increases at colleges after going test-optional; surveys of students on why they apply where they do.

    Best answer The affirmative answers that more applications don’t mean more good admits, and Dartmouth found test-optional didn’t increase low-income enrollment.

  4. N4 Colleges should choose their own policies.

    Why Colleges differ in mission and students. A blanket requirement prevents each from using the evidence that fits its own applicants.

    Evidence The range of policies among selective colleges (required, optional, blind) and their stated reasons.

    Best answer The affirmative replies that the resolution says what selective colleges should do, not that it must be imposed by law.

Strawman or steelman?

A strawman is a weak copy of the other side’s view, easy to knock down and unfair to the people who hold it. A steelman is that view at its strongest. Answer the steelman, and you’ve answered the real argument. (More on steelmanning.)

Affirmative

Strawman “Supporters think a single test score tells you everything about a person.”

Why it’s unfair Supporters argue scores add information alongside grades, essays and context, not replace them.

Steelman With grades inflated and schools uneven, a common test adds useful information, and requiring it can help disadvantaged students with strong scores stand out.

Negative

Strawman “Opponents just want to make college easier to get into.”

Why it’s unfair Opponents argue grades predict graduation better and that tests reflect family advantage.

Steelman Grades capture persistence and predict graduation well; required tests add a barrier that tracks family income, so colleges should be free to go without them.

Weak arguments to avoid

Affirmative

  • “Tests are the only fair way to compare students.” Overstates the case and ignores income gaps in scores; the stronger claim is that tests add information.

Negative

  • “Tests are biased, so they’re useless.” Research shows scores do predict college performance; the argument should be about how much and compared to what.

Questions for cross-examination

Ask the Affirmative

  1. What do studies outside highly selective colleges find?
  2. How would students who can’t afford test prep be helped?
  3. Should colleges consider scores in the context of a student’s school?

Ask the Negative

  1. How should colleges compare grades from very different high schools?
  2. What did Dartmouth find about disadvantaged applicants under test-optional?
  3. If grades are inflated, how should colleges tell top students apart?

Reading on both sides

Read at least one source from each side before you debate. Look up each source’s author and publisher too: who wrote it is part of the evidence.

Background and overviews

Mostly Affirmative

Mostly Negative

Practice this topic

Sources for the background

  1. Why Dartmouth College Is Requiring ACT and SAT Scores Again, BestColleges (2024-02-07). Accessed 2026-10-25.
  2. Test scores don't stack up to GPAs in predicting college success, University of Chicago (2020-02-05). Accessed 2026-10-25.

Teddy Rook Book doesn’t take a side on this resolution. Updated 2026-10-25.

@teddyrookbook GitHub