“考试可选运动”对美国高校招生的影响--以加州公立大学系统为例

The Impacts of the“Test Optional Movement”on College Admission in America--A Case Study of the California Public University Systems

学术能力考试和美国大学入学考试成绩是美国大学招生录取的依据。在新冠病毒感染疫情肆虐之际,美国高校纷纷取消这一入学条件,在高等教育界掀起了一场“考试可选运动”。加州公立大学系统试图以新的入学考试或加州现有的考试取而代之,均未获成功,因此不得不修订录取标准,出台“新全面审核政策”。新政策是要解决教育不公平的问题,也就是整体学术水平不占优势的非裔、西裔学生在大学代表性不足的问题。但是,取消学术能力考试和美国大学入学考试实际上是一种弱化学术表现、强化身份评估的做法,新政策带来的挑战和风险也是显而易见的:招生投入加大、效率降低;录取主观性扩大、质量难以保证;录取决定的法律风险增加等。

SAT and ACT scores are important objective conditions for college admission in the United States.During COVID-19 pandemic,an increasing number of American universities have cancelled these admission requirements,setting off the“test optional movement”in higher education.The two public university systems in the state of California have attempted to replace them with new entrance exams or existing tests.However,the attempt has not been successful.They then had to revise the admission criteria and introduce a“new holistic review policy”.The new policy aims to address educational inequality,that is,to address the under representation of African and Hispanic Americans in universities who do not have an overall advantage in academic performance.However,abandoning SAT and ACT is to some extent a way to weaken academic performance and strengthen identity evaluation.The challenges and risks brought by the new policy are also obvious:increased expenses on and reduced efficiency in admission;the expanded admission subjectivity and the difficulty to guarantee admission quality;and the likelihood of increasing legal risk of admission decisions.