UW removes standardized test score requirements for students beyond fall 2021

SEATTLE — The University of Washington announced Thursday it has removed the requirement of standardized tests scores like the SAT and ACT for incoming students beyond fall 2021.

The requirement had already been temporarily removed for the fall 2021 class due to a lack of available testing lights amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

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University officials said admissions officers have studied the results and outcomes for several years “and found standardized test scores have little correlation with success at the UW.”

According to the university, the change will allow applicants to focus on taking a rigorous high school curriculum, which they say more directly correlates with future success.

“The UW is dedicated to creating opportunities for the most promising students to learn and discover how they can make an impact,” UW President Ana Mari Cauce said in a news release. “Careful analysis and research showed that standardized testing did not add meaningfully to the prediction of student success that our holistic admission process already provides.”

Officials said their research shows that requiring test scores can create barriers for students from low-income backgrounds, students of color and women.

“Ultimately, this decision is about access and student success,” said Joseph Janes, chair of the Faculty Senate and a professor in the Information School. “The faculty, after careful and thoughtful consideration in partnership with our administration, have recognized that students’ potential achievement over four years or more of their university education can’t be measured by the result of one test on one day. And we are hopeful that this move will open doors to our university through which will come generations of magnificent students.”

Officials said the change takes effect immediately for the Seattle campus, and UW Bothell and UW Tacoma will also be reviewing their standardized test score policies.

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