NCAA Task Force Pushes to End Standardized Test Score Requirement

An NCAA task force backs a plan to eliminate standardized test score requirements for high school students preparing to play Division I or II sports.

“This work reflects the NCAA’s commitment to continually reviewing our academic standards based on the best available data and other relevant information,” said David Wilson, who heads the NCAA Standardized Test Score Task Force. “We are observing a national trend in NCAA member schools moving away from requiring standardized test scores for admissions purposes and this recommendation for athletics eligibility aligns directly with that movement.”

According to NCAA, the task force was formed with the purpose of advancing “racial equity.” One of the specific “action items” to address the promotion of “racial equity” is “Review initial-eligibility requirements, specifically the requirement for the SAT/ACT.”

NCAA states that, in making its decision to recommend ending the standardized test requirement, the task force consulted with the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, the National Association for College Admission Counseling, and the College Board and ACT, as well as Division I and II membership.

Thousands fewer graduating high school students took the SAT and ACT college readiness assessments in 2021 compared to the previous year.

About 1.5 million students in the graduating class of 2021 took the SAT, down from 2.2 million in the class of 2020, leading the College Board to blame the participation decline on coronavirus pandemic disruptions.

However, as Breitbart News reported in May, about 60 percent of U.S. colleges ended the standardized testing requirement following claims the tests discriminate against black and other minority students because these groups are less likely to be able to afford test preparation courses.

In a similar trend reported Wednesday, about 1.3 million high school students took the ACT exam in 2021, 375,000 fewer than last year, and a number that represents 35 percent of graduates nationwide.

The average composite score on the ACT dropped from 20.6 in 2020 to 20.3 in 2021, the lowest level in at least ten years. The ACT’s highest possible score is a 36.

All racial/ethnic groups showed a decline in ACT scores, except Asian Americans and American Indian/Alaska Native students.

In January, the College Board announced it would eliminate the optional essay and the subject tests from the SAT exam in order to “reduce demands on students.”