High school students faced serious challenges trying to take their SAT and ACT exams due to many tests being cancelled because of the pandemic. In response, there was a rise in institutions that adopted test-optional and even test-optional admissions policies. Standardized tests benefit high-income and predominantly white students who can afford expensive tutoring or to take the exams multiple times to improve their scores, while low-income students don’t have access to the same resources. Despite these reasons, US News and World Report still includes the average test scores of incoming students in the Best Colleges ranking methodology. We’re trying to change that.

We have created this petition for US News’ editors to persuade them to drop the use of average test scores in their methodology. The more attention we bring to this practice, the more likely we are to convince US News to be more reliable for the many families that consume its product. With so much currently changing in higher education, it’s now more important than ever to stand up for students and hold organizations that mislead them accountable. Join over 200 students, educators, activists, and researchers from our previous petition and sign your name!

Please read the full letter here: https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/edcentral/to-the-editors-of-us-news-and-world-reports-best-colleges-rankings/