How much do your standardized test scores matter? The short answer is “a lot.” But it’s complicated.

SAT and ACT scores continue to matter, at least for the foreseeable future. Their legacy is strong even though the tests have long been criticized—all the more since the outbreak of COVID-19—for their divisive design.

Read on for specifics and don’t worry—no test awaits at the end.

History of the SAT and ACT

With origins dating back to the 1920s, the SAT, short for Scholastic Aptitude Test, is the older of the two. It evolved out of a test to assess the intelligence of U.S. Army recruits during WWI into an experimental college admission exam in 1926. A decade later, it was adopted by Harvard to evaluate scholarship applicants. By the late 1940s, it featured prominently as the college entrance exam to Ivy League universities and other exclusive schools of the Northeast.

Concerned about the SAT’s exclusivity and focus on intelligence as aptitude, rather than academic achievement, a professor from the University of Iowa developed the ACT, American College Test, in 1959. He devised it as a tool to measure students’ readiness for college based on their comprehension and application of key subjects they had learned in schools, such as English, Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences.

Both tests have evolved and expanded over the decades and are known today primarily by their acronyms. Nowadays, most, if not all, US colleges and universities require their applicants to take at least one and earn a minimum score as part of the admissions process.

But critics charge neither test ever settled this question: Is the score a predictor of future college success or merely an assessment of the student’s test-taking skill?

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has fueled the debate anew, with an increasing number of voices suggesting: Let’s get rid of the SAT and the ACT.

Standardized testing before COVID-19

To understand the controversy, it’s helpful to remember the norm of standardized test-taking.

From the students’ perspective—and sometimes, their parents’—doing well on the tests means validation of sorts. The higher the score, the better and the more accomplished they might feel about themselves, their skills, and their academic future.

But a great test score is not just a question of self-esteem; it’s also the possible ticket to a top university plus a highly coveted scholarship that will make attendance financially feasible.

With so much at stake, preparing for the SAT and or the ACT has become big business. A large test-preparation industry has emerged that seeks to coach students on how to increase their scores, study more effectively, learn various test-taking tips and best practices, and so forth. All for a substantial fee, of course, hindering many students and families.

Despite the inequities, colleges and universities value ACT and SAT scores as a way to compare students on a metric that is independent of the often wildly dissimilar high school curricula across the nation. They also use them as a cutoff point to manage the sheer number of applications, and finally, they’re likely to promote the high scores of their applicants as a testament to their own excellence.

Standardized testing in the age of COVID-19

Life, as we knew, has been upended by the ongoing pandemic, including how, when, and where to take the standardized tests. Consider the following.

• Many test sites have had to shut down to avoid the spread of the virus.
• Several paper-and-pencil exams have been postponed, postponed again, and ultimately, canceled.
• The shift to virtual instructions and online exams has left students without reliable internet connections to take the tests.
• Many students are despairing over the loss of what they perceive as the most important component of their college application.