VOA教育报道2022 麻省理工恢复SAT/ACT考试成绩的要求

MIT Will Require SAT, ACT Again

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, recently announced the SAT and ACT standardized¹ tests will once again be required for students seeking admission² starting next school year.

That is a change from the last two years, as MIT and thousands of other colleges and universities decided³ to give students the choice to send their scores. That is because testing centers closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many schools say they will continue the policy for at least a while.

A group that opposes testing, called FairTest, noted⁴ last autumn that over 1,800 colleges and universities were test optional⁵ this year. Even before the pandemic, the University of Chicago made test scores optional.

In fact, both the University of California and California State University, Cal State, took it one step further. They removed the test requirement. The two university groups manage over 30 colleges and universities in California and teach about 700,000 students each year.

In announcing the decision in March, the top Cal State leader, Steve Relyea, known as the chancellor⁶, said the move will "level the playing field" and permit more students to get a "high quality" degree.

Bob Schaeffer is the leader of FairTest. He said many universities in the U.S. will soon "follow [California's] lead." He called the movement to eliminate⁷ tests "no accident."

Against the trend

However, MIT, one of the highest-rated schools in the U.S., is going against this movement.

Stu Schmill is MIT's head of admissions⁸. In a message on the school's website, Schmill said the SAT and ACT give the school a way to judge whether students are ready for MIT. In addition, he noted, the tests help MIT find students who are able to succeed, but may have come from high schools that are not able to teach "advanced coursework."

In a conversation with MIT's news service, Schmill said test scores, especially in math, permit the school to predict a student's performance. He did say, however, that MIT is not looking for students with perfect scores, but the scores are an important extra piece of information.

Also, Schmill said, since many students took classes by video over the last two years, it was hard for teachers to give correct grades. The tests are now more valuable than the grades in some cases.

Critics of standardized tests say wealthy students have an advantage and do better than poor students. Wealthy schools often have advisers¹⁰ who help students learn the tests. Both the California universities noted this criticism¹¹ as a reason to eliminate the tests.

Schmill, however, said the SAT is a good way for the MIT admissions department to see that a student is prepared for college even if they have not taken the hardest science and math classes.

"The SAT/ACT can actually open the door to MIT for these students, too," he said.

An expert opinion

Tiffany Blessing¹² is an adviser⁹ for IvyWise, a company in New York that helps students think about colleges. She is a past assistant director of admissions at MIT.

Blessing said the MIT decision will not affect most students who were already planning to apply.

"In general," she said, "students plan on taking standardized tests and use the test-optional [choice] when the test scores ... do not turn out to be the way they intended."

Blessing said the decision will help international students show they are comfortable with a test in English and an American style of evaluation¹³.

"It helps a college or university understand just how strong an ‘A' might be in a situation where almost everyone in the applicant¹⁴ pool has ‘A's'."

Blessing also noted that students who are thinking about going to MIT will also send in other scores. American students will send in Advanced Placement test scores and international students will send in scores from their own countries. For a student from Great Britain, for example, MIT will look at scores from A-level exams and IGCSE tests in different subjects.

Schmill said, the test is a "tool," and the school will make changes if better tools become available.

As he told the New York Times recently: "I'm not saying this is the right decision for any or every other school. But for us, we think it is the right decision."

Words in This Story

standardized –adj. something that everyone must do and is the same for all

admission – n. the act of admitting or allowing someone entry to a school or university

option - n. the chance to choose between two or more things

level the playing field – phrase. the idea of making sure everything is fair

eliminate – v. to remove something

pool – n. a group of people who do the same job or activity together, such as students applying for admission to a school

1 standardized   

adj.标准化的

参考例句：

• We use standardized tests to measure scholastic achievement. 我们用标准化考试来衡量学生的学业成绩。
• The parts of an automobile are standardized. 汽车零件是标准化了的。

2 admission   

n.允许进入；承认；入场费，入会费，入场券

参考例句：

• We attached a condition to his admission to our school.我们对准许他入校附加了一个条件。
• By her own admission,she was responsible for the accident.她自己承认，事故应该由她负责。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 optional   

adj.可任意选择的，非强制的，随意的

参考例句：

• The goods are optional, but only one.这些物品是可以任选的，但只能选一个。
• It is optional with you.那是你的自由。

6 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

7 eliminate   

vt.排除，消除，根除

参考例句：

• Can we ever eliminate poverty from the world?我们有朝一日能消除世上的贫困吗？
• You must eliminate an unknown quantity.你必须消去一个未知数。

8 admissions   

n.准许进入( admission的名词复数 )；入场费；入场券；承认

参考例句：

• a need-blind admissions policy 不考虑经济能力的录取政策
• He's the Dean of Admissions for the University of Michigan. 他是Michigan大学的新生注册主任。 来自辞典例句

9 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

10 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

11 criticism   

n.批评，批判，指责；评论，评论文章

参考例句：

• Some youth today do not allow any criticism at all.现在有些年轻人根本指责不得。
• It is wrong to turn a deaf ear to other's criticism.对别人的批评充耳不闻是错误的。

12 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

13 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

14 applicant   

n.申请人，求职者，请求者

参考例句：

• He was the hundredth applicant for the job. 他是第100个申请这项工作的人。
• In my estimation, the applicant is well qualified for this job. 据我看, 这位应征者完全具备这项工作的条件。