KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Prospective students of the University of Tennessee will not need to submit ACT or SAT scores through the fall 2025 admissions cycle.
Officials said that the decision is meant to make undergraduate admission more equitable for incoming students and their families. The school started making the tests optional in July 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Spanish Version: UT opta por hacer las puntuaciones de los exámenes estandarizados opcionales para alumnos de nuevo ingreso hasta 2025
“And so is one test an indication of a kid's academic ability? Maybe not,” said Jason Chamber, the Assistant Principal at Anderson County High School.
Testing companies and centers stopped in-person testing, making it more difficult for students to complete their applications if they could not take the ACT or SAT. Officials said testing continues to be a challenge, with limited capacities and appointment options.
UT officials also said universities across the U.S. are making standardized test scores optional as part of their application processes. They said college preparedness can display in many different ways, and the test scores may not fully capture the potential a student shows.
Admission officials said they want to give prospective students a chance to show their academic and nonacademic talents such as leadership, community engagement, critical thinking and intellectual curiosity.
“Though we believe admissions tests do provide additional validity to our decisions, we also understand the tests are just one part of a student’s story," said Fabrizio D’Aloisio, executive director of Undergraduate Admissions.
More than 9,000 prospective students applied without submitting test scores in the first year when they were optional.
Officials will also review the results of the application process in five years and decide whether to continue making test scores optional.
Many parents said they feel the move makes sense.
"I don't have a problem with colleges and universities straying away from it. There are some kids who are not good test takers," one Gatlinburg parent said.
Others feel tests like the SAT and ACT work in favor of certain students over others.
"It appears to me that it is more socioeconomically biased," Bobby Nicholson with Outlier's Advantage ACT Prep Academy said. "Teens from a lower socioeconomic status tend to really have a harder time with it."
Regardless of whether a prospective student submits test scores, they will be considered for Honors and Scholars programs, as well as applicable scholarships.