By Noah Grand
Daily Bruin Reporter
An Academic Senate proposal to develop an admissions test based
on California high school curriculum that is fair to all
demographic groups is not possible, state and test service
officials said.
Nevertheless, the UC Academic Senate is working separately with
the College Board and ACT Inc. ““ creators of the SAT and ACT,
respectively ““ to develop a new admissions test to meet these
criteria.
But the differing quality of education students from more
affluent backgrounds receive will help them on any test, said
College Board spokeswoman Chiara Coletti.
“We believe what the University of California suggests is
noble,” Coletti said. “They are trying to find some
kind of test that doesn’t exist yet that can level the
playing field.”
“I don’t know if that is doable,” she
continued.
The Academic Senate’s Board on Admissions and Relations
with Schools recommended on Jan. 30 that the UC stop using current
standardized tests, and instead, to develop one reflecting the high
school classes the UC requires of all applicants.
System-wide Academic Senate chair Chand Viswanathan and BOARS
chair Dorothy Perry were unavailable for comment.
The UC requires all applicants to submit either SAT I or ACT
scores, as well as scores on three SAT II subject tests.
BOARS, who wants the new test to be “fair across
demographic groups,” presented research that the SAT ““
which is administered by the College Board ““ is biased in
favor of white and Asian-American students.
All standardized tests from the third grade on have biases
favoring affluent students, and a new test will not solve the
problem, Coletti said.
Basing the test on a uniform California high school curriculum
will also be difficult, because of the variance in curriculum
across the state’s high schools, said California Department
of Education consultant Jeanne Ludwig.
The College Board is working on creating a new test with BOARS,
Coletti said, adding however, that she does not feel the UC needs
its own test.
BOARS is also involved in separate discussions with ACT Inc.
about modifying its test for the UC.
ACT Inc. will submit a new version of the test to BOARS with an
additional writing section and writing sample, said company
spokesman Ken Gullette.
The writing sample was favored after a UC study released last
October showed that the SAT II subject test ““ which included
a student writing sample ““ was the best predictor of a
student’s performance in college of any SAT I or II test
portion.
BOARS recommended achievement tests based on subjects students
are taught. Both the SAT II tests and the ACT are based on this
model, while the SAT I is based on testing a student’s
aptitude as opposed to what they learn in school.
Questions for the ACT are created by surveying high school
teachers across the nation about what they are teaching, Gullette
said. College professors are surveyed to see what skills they
expect students to have learned in high school.
The ACT reflects the high school curriculum of states throughout
the country, not just California. Gullette hopes the new version of
ACT submitted will be accepted by BOARS, which is seeking a
California specific test.
Gullette expects both ACT Inc. and the College Board to develop
tests the UC will accept. Coletti said she doubts the UC will give
a monopoly on testing to either company.
About 73 percent of UC applicants take the SAT I, while 2
percent only take the ACT and 25 percent take both, according to
BOARS report.
Gullette said the reason for this is primarily geographic: the
SAT is more popular on the East and West Coasts while the ACT is
more popular in the Midwest.
BOARS has also discussed with her department whether any
existing test California students take in high school, such as the
state exit exam or Golden State Exam, could also be used for UC
admissions, Ludwig said.
“There are lots of concerns that students are taking too
many tests,” Ludwig said. “There was conversation about
trying to reduce the amount of time that students spend taking
tests.”
While current tests high school students must take are not
difficult enough to be used in UC admissions, Ludwig said the UC
may be able to use the Golden State Exams ““ optional exams
that college-bound students take to try and receive state honors
““ as an admissions test.
The process of creating any new test is still in the discussion
phases. The academic senates at the individual UC campuses will
discuss the BOARS proposal and send recommendations back to
BOARS.
BOARS will then write a final report and send it to the
system-wide Academic Senate, which could vote on it as early as
May. It would then be sent to the regents for a possible vote,
which could occur as early as July.
The UC Regents will also hold special meetings before their
regularly scheduled March and May meetings to discuss the report
and the use of standardized tests in admissions, said regent Velma
Montoya.