Stanford University divided on merits of standardized testing after several colleges reinstate the measure

Stanford University faculty and students have debated standardized testing as the prestigious higher education institution considers reinstating the test in the admissions process.

"The tests themselves– they're not ridiculously hard. They test basic algebra and geometry, the kind of thing you'd learn in ninth or 10th grade," Stanford freshman Antonio Alonso-Stepanov told Fox News Digital. "And you just need to read passages, obviously kind of skim them because it's somewhat quick, but it's basic comprehension and basic grammar."

Stepanov explained further to Fox News Digital, "It's not that strange to say that if you are going to be attending one of these top schools, you should at least show that you can pass this like minimum bar."

Stanford University faculty and students have debated standardized testing as the prestigious higher education institution considers reinstating the test in the admissions process. (Fox News Digital)

Stanford removed the standardized test requirement during the 2020-2021 admissions cycle. Since they have been test-optional, they have not made an official statement about whether they plan to reinstate standardized test scores. 

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Stanford is among the universities considering the matter, with students and staff reportedly being divided on the measure, according to a campus newspaper. Stanford considers the matter after the University of California Board of Regents voted to permanently eliminate standardized test requirements.

Stepanov and his freshman counterpart Dylan Rem wrote a column in the Stanford Review arguing that standardized tests should be mandatory again.

They wrote the following statement in the Stanford Review, "Stanford must follow Dartmouth’s lead and revive standardized testing as a mandatory factor for applications in order to promote meritocracy and fairness. Out of all the metrics in the college admissions process, standardized tests are undoubtedly the most objective."

Rem said that he’s heard from upper classmen that professors have addressed a decline in work ethic since the absence of the standardized testing requirement in the admissions process.

"We've heard from upper classmen and older people that the professors have definitely complained about basic math skills and also work ethic–people asking for deadline extensions, etc.-- that has definitely deteriorated in the past few years," Rem said.

He added, "And it, maybe, correlation, causation, you know, COVID obviously caused learning loss, but I wouldn't be surprised if standardized testing played a role in that."

Stanford removed the standardized test requirement during the 2020-2021 admissions cycle. Since they have been test-optional, they have not made an official statement about whether they plan to reinstate standardized test scores. (Fox News Digital)

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The Stanford Daily highlights the "divide" among the Stanford community on the merits of standardized test scores.

Fox News Digital reached out to Stanford for comment. 

Richard Ford, a professor at Stanford Law School (SLS), told the Stanford Daily that standardized test scores "provide universities with a scalable metric in the admissions process."

"Ford wrote that judging applicants based on ‘grades and high school reputation… might be as bad or worse [than standardized testing] with respect to class and race bias,’" the Stanford Daily wrote.

"I don’t think it is good that selective universities encourage high school students to spend time and money on test prep — cramming for a test is not the kind of hard work we should value," Ford wrote.

Lauren Tapper, who graduates in 2027, believes that standardized tests "enforce inequality." 

"Wealthier students can afford prep classes and private tutors, giving them unfair advantages in college admission processes where tests are required and part of admission decision-making rubrics," she said to the Stanford Daily. 

Uchenna Abba, another Stanford class of 2027 prospect, told the outlet that "standardized tests should only be required with changes to the test’s current design."

People visit Stanford University in Stanford, California, United States on October 30, 2021.  (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

"If the SAT is modified to more accurately depict students’ knowledge, then it should be reinstated," she said.

Rich Shavelson, an education psychologist at the Graduate School of Education, told the Stanford Daily that "There are no minimum test scores required to be admitted to Stanford, and there is no score that guarantees admission."

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Many universities dropped the requirement during the COVID-19 pandemic and then reinstated it.

Other prestigious institutions in the nation like Stanford, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Georgetown University, reinstated the requirement in their admissions process.

Dartmouth College became the first Ivy League institution to reinstate its standardized testing requirement for the next application cycle. Yale followed soon after. 

The University of Texas at Austin and Brown University were the latest to reinstate their standardized testing requirement, joining a growing list of higher education institutions.

UT added that due to the plethora of high school GPAs surrounding 4.0, the standardized test requirement is a "proven differentiator" that serves the best interest of the applicant and UT.