User:Jwbeaman/Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education/Bibliography

The pandemic put all standardized testing on hold in March 2020. Administrators suspended statewide exams, AP tests, and college entrance exams until they could be safely proctored in-person or securely conducted online. Thousands of students had their exams canceled throughout the start of the pandemic, leaving their applications empty of an SAT/ACT score. The wave of cancelations forced college admissions offices to pivot to a test-optional application process.

According to FairTest, 1,050 schools reported test-optional or test-blind policies in fall 2019. During the height of the pandemic, a massive way of schools shifted to test-optional to accommodate students who were unable to secure a test date. With most areas of the United States safe enough to conduct standardized testing in person, the number of schools with test-optional policies remains at 1,6000. Without standardized test scores, these schools place greater emphasis on other parts of the application, including essays, recommendation letters, and extracurriculars.

The move to test-optional is motivated by factors other than the pandemic, too. Studies show that standardized testing increases stress levels and adversely affects performance on exams, making it a poor indicator of the best prospective students. There have also been several scandals regarding cheating on standardized tests, including Varsity Blues.

Jake Forbes Sources (as of 3/18):

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/how-recent-events-reshaped-college-admissions

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/12/900173338/how-the-coronavirus-has-upended-college-admissions

https://www.urban.org/research/publication/how-test-optional-college-admissions-expanded-during-covid-19-pandemic

https://fortune.com/2021/03/02/covid-sat-act-college-admissions-2021/