Beginning with next year’s incoming undergraduate class, Brown University will no longer require prospective students to submit SAT essay or ACT writing scores when applying for admission to the University.
They’re also doing the same thing as Princeton, and allowing kids to submit a graded writing assignment. But it’s recommended, not required. Smart.
Caltech just did the same thing. They say “As of July 2018, Caltech no longer requires the SAT Essay or ACT Writing exam sections. Additionally, these sections will not be considered in the application review process.”
The following Higher Education articles says “Only 22 colleges appear to still require the writing test.”
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2018/07/11/caltech-drops-satact-writing-test
I think this was largely caused by ACT’s rescoring irregularities when they temporarily went to a 36-point essay. Students who requested rescoring essays showed that there’s a large error bar in essay scoring.
"Brown University this week became the latest school to stop requiring prospective students to take SAT and ACT essay tests, joining a burgeoning list of selective colleges and universities that have eliminated the requirement this year.
Brown was the last Ivy League school to require the writing assignment. Princeton University dropped the requirement earlier this month. Fewer than 25 schools now mandate students to submit essay scores as part of their college applications, according to some estimations.
Brown officials said the essay requirement may pose an impediment to students from low-income families. Students with lesser means often take advantage of free SAT testing offered during the school day at nearly 8,000 schools across the country, according to the university." …
More good news here.
It’s the right move, the essay portion is garbage: https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/03/13/the-man-who-killed-sat-essay/L9v3dbPXewKq8oAvOUqONM/story.html