Behind the SAT-Optional Movement: Context and Controversy

Prestige in higher education is nothing new. Before the internet, before college rankings, before guide-books, and even before standardized admission tests, the aristocracy sent their children to the colleges and universities perceived to be “the best. ” Few others penetrated the hallowed walls. In 1928, the Uni-versity of Chicago (IL) first introduced the notion of a college or university deliberately enhancing prestige, not through historical, social or community ties, or the success of graduates, but through the rejection of applicants, selectivity and the acquisition of “higher quality ” students. Only in the latter half of the 20th century did the system shift towards exclusivity and discrimination more on ability than social status. 1 The term SAT is used throughout this study, aside from the direct history of the exam itself, to represent both the SAT and the ACT as the dominant standardized tests used in college admission in the United States. The advent of the modern form of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), brought to bear by the combination of the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and Harvard’s former president James Bry-ant Conant (Lemann 1999), was designed to promote the recog-nition of talent and intellect, wherever they may be found. Their aim was to provide greater educational access for academicall