Standardized testing will be a thing of the past when it comes to college applications for some students at Chicago’s DePaul University.
The school announced this week that it doesn't need prospective students to disclose their ACT or SAT scores on their application.
"We’re not intending to completely dismiss standardized test scores, but we are saying, take some of the anxiety away," explained University Enrollment Manager Carla Cortes.
Beginning this year DePaul's applicants can opt out and instead write essays, eliminating any bias for otherwise promising students. DePaul is focusing on high school GPA’s and other factors.
Current students at DePaul have mixed reactions regarding the decision, some think opting out of the standardized testing will lower the caliber of the incoming students, while others say their test results do not represent how smart they really are.
"It’s kinda scary because you don’t really understand how it’s actually measuring your intelligence," said high school senior Sydney Bronstein.
DePaul received 16,000 applications for 2,500 spots. For this year's incoming class of freshman, the average grade point average was 3.57, the average ACT score was 25.4 and the average SAT math and verbal scores was 1165.
According to fairtesting.org, about 1/3 of the nations accredited colleges and Universities have made the tests optional, but experts don't see them disappearing.
