UW System Moves Toward Permanent End To SAT, ACT Requirement

School classroom. (Pixabay License).

The Universities of Wisconsin may permanently eliminate college entrance exams scores as a required part of the first year student admission processes.

Since 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began, the UW system has waived a requirement that students submit either SAT and ACT scores at all 13 UW campuses. Before the waiver, the scores had been a requirement for college applications since 1989 .

On Thursday, the UW Board of Regents Education Committee discussed a plan to make the test-optional approach permanent. The policy change will be taken up for a final vote at a future Regents meeting.

“This proposed change in policy empowers students who pursue the traditional admission pathway to a UW institution to make the best decision for themselves based on their own unique experiences, educational journeys and academic goals,” said Julie Amon, associate vice president for enrollment and student success.

In April, the UW Board of Regents approved an extension of the test score waiver for the high school class of 2027.

UW Madison’s Student Success Through Applied Research lab did research comparing UW student success in relation to ACT and SAT test scores.

SSTAR lab research from 2024 found that first-year students’ GPAs remained consistent from 2018. This included periods before and after test scores were required.

They also found test scores were a worse predictor of college completion than high school grade point averages. Course rigor, leadership and extracurriculars all seemed to be better indicators of future academic success in college, the research found.

Since 2024, the research has expanded to see how test scores impacted first-year GPAs, first to second year retention, and four-year completion rates. They found academic performances remained steady or improved since 2020. The research found there wasn’t a correlation between test scores and retention.

The state’s Direct Admit Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Guarantee programs also don’t include standardized testing scores in their admission criteria, Amon said. The programs give early admission to some UW schools for qualified high school juniors. She said about 90 percent of Wisconsin high school juniors attend a high school that participates in the Direct Admit Wisconsin.

Amon said over 2,000 institutions nationally remain test optional or test blind. She said making the waiver permanent will help UW schools compete against other universities regionally and nationally for enrollment.

But some highly selective schools have started requiring students to submit their SAT and ACT scores once again.

“We are living in a context where pretty much everything is test optional,” she said. “The ones that you have seen swing back swing back in the news recently are largely the Ivy League.”

UW Education Committee proposes to permanently waive SAT and ACT test score requirements was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.