- An Inside Higher Ed article, “Era Ends for 3 Subject Test Requirements,” bids farewell to the SAT II test (also known as “achievement tests” or “subject tests”) at most universities. William R. Fitzsimmons, Harvard’s Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, explains that “the university decided to stop requiring three subject tests because the writing test on the main part of the SAT has turned out to be a valid predictor of grads, just the way the subject tests are.” Only Canada’s University of Toronto still requires three subject tests. Other schools, like Stanford and Georgetown, may encourage applicants to take the SAT IIs, but do not require that they do so.
- Average ACT scores took a downward turn this year, yet more students have proven that they are prepared for college by surpassing the test’s four “college preparedness” benchmarks, reports a U.S. News article last week. According to Cynthia Schmeiser, ACT’s president and COO, these seemingly contradictory findings actually show progress. “It’s slow progress,” she says, but “[w]e are headed in the right direction.” Overall, readiness in math and science is up, while readiness for college-level English is down.
- A Chronicle article discusses the results of an Education Trust report that reveals disparities in college graduation rates among white, black, and Hispanic students at private and public universities. 60% of white students earn degrees within six years of beginning college, while only 49% of Latino students and 40% of black students complete school within that same timeframe. Schools that have made efforts to close this gap “have achieved smashing success…while others have records of shocking irresponsibility.” The message here, according to the Chronicle article, is that “what colleges do for students of color powerfully impacts the futures of these young people and that of our nation.”
- Graduates from Ivy League institutions are 4% more likely to repay their student loans, reports an NPR article, “Ivy Grads Outperform Their Public-School Colleagues on Loan Repayment.” Harvard topped the repayment list with an 84% average pay back rate (Harvard Business School’s repayment rate is even higher at 88%). For the “public Ivies,” the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the College of William and Mary tied for first place at 79%. On the lower end of the spectrum, Brown University came in at 63% and Miami University of Ohio at 62%.
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