Knox College has become the first national liberal arts college in Illinois — and one of just three in the Midwest — to eliminate standardized test scores as a requirement for admission. Beginning with the class applying for the fall of 2006, the submission of SAT or ACT scores will become optional.

"Standardized tests don't measure the qualities we value most in our applicants — intellectual curiosity, creativity, and an eagerness for learning," explains Paul Steenis, Vice President for Enrollment and Dean of Admission. "We want future students who have excelled in a challenging high school curriculum and who show initiative, leadership and personal maturity."

Scores Don't Predict Success
The college decided to drop the test score requirement this month after faculty, student and trustee committees examined the issue during the past year. Knox also reviewed research that included a 20-year-long study by Bates College, where test scores have been optional for the duration of the study. Bates' Vice President William Hiss told a conference last fall that Bates students "earned exactly the same grades, and graduated at exactly the same rates," whether or not they submitted a standardized admission test result.

According to Knox College President Roger Taylor, "We live in a world increasingly obsessed by testing at all levels of education. And 'teaching to a test' has often become more important than actually learning something — more important than developing a genuine love of learning. We decided Knox needed to take a leadership role in reducing the fixation on college admission testing."

Research shows that student performance on tests varies significantly by gender, race and family income. Despite the efforts by test creators to minimize the discriminatory effects of standardized testing, certain groups of capable students continue to be overlooked by an educational system that places such undue emphasis on test scores.

According to a recent study by educational experts, including former Princeton University President William G. Bowen, "poor families have great difficulty investing sufficient personal and financial resources to prepare their children to attend college, do well, and graduate." A large part of this disparity is the result of the growing need for expensive test preparation.

'Cram' Courses Reduce Access
"High school students can artificially boost their scores on standardized tests by taking expensive cram courses that can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars," Taylor said. "Knox is a highly selective college that is also committed to providing access to a top-notch liberal arts education for all qualified students. The current industry of costly test preparation courses is, in effect, a barrier to college for the students who can't afford them."

"The recent addition of essay components to the SAT and ACT haven't made them more useful, just more expensive for students," Steenis said. "Knox's application already included an essay and personal interview for most applicants," according to Steenis. "Knox admission counselors personally review each application and are able to make well-informed decisions based on each applicant's achievements, interests, and personal qualities."

Other National Colleges Move to Make Tests Optional 
Over the past two years, Knox has received record numbers of applications for admission and enrolled some of the largest classes in the college's 168-year history. More than 350 new students are expected to enroll this fall.

Other nationally-ranked colleges that have dropped the test requirement include Bowdoin, College of the Holy Cross, Hampshire, Franklin and Marshall, Lawrence University, Lewis & Clark, Mount Holyoke, Sarah Lawrence and St. John's College.

Criteria for Admission to Knox

External Sites
  FairTest.org Web Site
  Bates College Test Research