I need to give you a little background about all this, so if you don’t work in Michigan, hang in there. This is important.
The end-of-the-year testing program in Michigan includes the SAT, and is given to every public high school junior. This battery of tests includes the SAT, a move originally designed to encourage students to take the test as they explore their options for life after high school.
Here’s where things get tricky. This program, which is codified in state law, was created at a time when the vast majority of colleges required test scores of some kind as part of the admissions process. That’s now changed, but the law hasn’t.
You see where this is going. Thanks to state law, no Michigan public school student can apply to any college as a test-optional candidate. This is an issue for many reasons, including a couple not often considered:
- Out-of-state students applying to Michigan colleges have an advantage over Michigan public school students applying to the same colleges
- Michigan public school students are at risk of submitting test scores that are lower than their best performance, since the SAT is given as part of a three-day testing experience, increasing the likelihood of test fatigue.
State law also requires this battery of tests includes administration of the SAT Writing Sample, a dinosaur that hasn’t appeared on the national SAT in several years. It was discontinued nationally when colleges basically said yeah, this thing doesn’t come close to measuring a student’s ability to write at the college level—yet Michigan is one of four states that still make students take it.
Legislation has been introduced in Michigan to eliminate the transcript posting requirement and the SAT writing sample—but here’s the reason why all of this could be important to you.
In gathering support for the change, a leading assessment organization has suggested that, in placing test scores on transcripts without the student’s consent, the state is violating FERPA. If the scores truly do belong to the student, the student should have say over who gets to see them. It’s also interesting that College Board believes test scores have no place on transcripts.
All of this is to say that, if your school has a policy that places test scores on transcripts, or automatically sends test scores with a transcript, it’s time to rethink that. Most colleges are test optional, which means scores aren’t required for admission. But if they’re sent, low scores can hurt a student’s chances for admission, since most colleges look at everything submitted—and the number of colleges who ignore low scores once they see them is about three dozen, so don’t count on that. Worse than that, if FERPA really is in play here, you’re putting yourself at the risk of a lawsuit, and that’s just no fun at all.
You could run into some resistance from your administration if you request this change, but it really is in the best interest of your district and the students to stop this practice. If you need some help convincing your crew that it’s time for a change, talk to the folks at FairTest. They’ve led the charge to change testing policies in this country for years, and are highly respected national experts on the subject.
If that doesn’t work, it may be time to contact your local media and let them know students’ privacy and college chances may be at risk. This may drive your boss crazy, but a lawsuit would drive them crazier—and that’s what you should tell them.
