Ivy League Princeton joins growing number universities requiring standardized test scores again

Princeton University will again require applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores, bolstering a growing retreat from test-optional admissions policies nationwide. Here’s what you need to know about Princeton’s decision and the broader shift back to standardized testing requirements:

Princeton’s policy reversal

Ivy League school reinstates testing requirements for fall 2027:

• Princeton University will again require applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores, bolstering growing retreat from test-optional admissions policies nationwide
• Ivy League school’s decision to resume assessing scores for fall 2027 enrollment cycle follows similar reversals at top private and public universities over past year
• Dozens of universities from Harvard to Stanford suspended SAT requirements in March 2020 as applications from Black and low-income students plunged during pandemic lockdowns of K-12 schools
• Princeton noted in statement this month that it “paused standardized testing requirement for undergraduate admission” because of “COVID-19 pandemic and lack of access to testing centers,” then extended pause for several more years

Data-driven decision

University cites academic performance research:

• “The decision to resume testing requirements follows review of five years of data from test-optional period, which found that academic performance at Princeton was stronger for students who chose to submit test scores than for students who did not,” university said
• According to Princeton, tests will remain “just one element” in “comprehensive and holistic application review,” and there is no minimum score for acceptance
• University will continue to waive SAT and ACT requirements for active-duty military service members, citing their challenges in finding testing centers

Academic support for testing

Education experts praise return to merit-based standards:

• Most higher education insiders reached for comment hailed decision as latest sign of higher education returning to merit-based admission standards
• “The re-institution of SAT stems from two well-established research findings: test scores predict for college success better than grades do, and SAT also helps colleges identify promising students from disadvantaged backgrounds,” said Jonathan Zimmerman, professor in history of education at University of Pennsylvania
• Mr. Zimmerman noted that MIT admitted its most diverse class ever when it became first elite private campus to reinstate admissions test mandates for fall 2022 cycle
• According to multiple reports, selective universities that reject over 90% of applicants focused more on subjective essays and extracurricular activities during test-optional craze, favoring applicants who struggled academically

Industry perspective

Test prep company sees fairness improvement:

• “Princeton’s decision shows higher education is swinging back toward meritocracy,” said Shaan Patel, founder and CEO of Prep Expert, Las Vegas-based company that produces SAT preparation materials
• “The test-optional movement began with good intentions, but ultimately made admissions less fair”

Racial justice advocates’ concerns

Critics view change as capitulation to Trump administration:

• Some racial justice advocates disagreed. They lamented Princeton’s policy change as surrender to Trump administration, which has threatened to yank federal funding from elite schools that give preferential treatment to minorities
• “I think this is bit of capitulating to Trump administration’s demand that we make university admission more about merit, even though it already is,” said Tyrone C. Howard, education professor specializing in racial equity at public UCLA, which does not consider applicants’ test scores
• “And bottom line, this is really about getting access to more money”

Bias allegations

Advocates argue tests favor wealthy students:

• Racial justice advocates have long argued that SAT and ACT are culturally biased against low-income minorities and favor applicants from wealthy families with access to test prep resources
• Omekongo Dibinga, professor of intercultural communications affiliated with American University’s Antiracist Research and Policy Center, said those socioeconomic disparities deepened during pandemic lockdowns that hit urban public schools hardest
• “Many private, charter and high-performing public schools did not miss beat during COVID, whereas poorer-performing schools declined even more,” said Mr. Dibinga, whose university remains test-optional
• “Lastly, there is indeed proven cultural bias with these tests”

College Board response

Testing organization defends SAT integrity:

• Responding to decades of criticism from progressives, nonprofit College Board overhauled SAT in recent decades
• In 2005, group removed direct analogies and Verbal Reasoning section that racial justice advocates accused of favoring White, native English speakers
• College Board estimates that more than 2 million high school seniors in class of 2025 took SAT. That’s largest number since 2019, last graduation class before pandemic
• “Real and persistent differences in educational opportunity and outcomes in America’s education system are reflected in all academic measures, including SAT, but that does not mean SAT is biased instrument,” Jaslee Carayol, College Board spokeswoman, said in email this week
• “Every SAT question undergoes rigorous review to identify and eliminate potential bias, and any item found to favor one group over another is removed”

Current testing landscape

Most colleges remain test-optional nationwide:

• National Center for Fair and Open Testing, advocacy group known as FairTest that opposes standardized admissions assessments, estimates that 2,010 colleges nationwide remain test-optional, meaning they only consider scores if submitted
• Another 75 institutions are test-free, meaning they do not consider scores at all
• There are nearly 4,000 degree-granting colleges and universities nationally

Broader trend reversal

Top universities leading return to testing requirements:

• Most top universities announced their reversal of test-optional admissions under Biden administration
• Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, Georgetown, University of Texas at Austin and University of Wisconsin at Madison all made change last year
• Trump administration has since threatened to withhold federal grants and scholarship funds from elite universities that fail to practice merit-based admissions, adding to pressure to restore testing requirements
• Washington Times has reached out to White House for comment

Columbia still evaluating

Last Ivy League holdout considers policy change:

• Spokesperson for Columbia, last Ivy League campus with test-optional admissions, said New York City school is “actively evaluating” its policy
• “The University continually reviews and assesses our admissions policies to ensure compliance with law and alignment with our goal to attract strong students who will advance knowledge and learning at its highest levels and who will be successful in our rigorous undergraduate curriculum,” Columbia spokesperson said

Future predictions

Experts expect continued shift toward testing requirements:

• Peter Wood, president of conservative National Association of Scholars, predicted that more top universities will abolish test-optional admissions as they compete for brightest students
• “The students who choose not to report their test scores to admissions departments are generally those who calculate that their scores are too low to make their applications competitive,” said Mr. Wood, former associate provost at private Boston University

Read more:

• Princeton restores SAT requirement, bolstering retreat from test-optional admissions