Navigating Test-Optional, Test-Required, and Test-Recommended Admissions

Webinar Transcription

2026-06-08-Navigating Testing Options

Anesha: [00:00:00] Hi, everyone, and welcome to tonight’s webinar. My name is Anesha Grant. I am a senior advisor here at CollegeAdvisor, and I will be your moderator for tonight’s webinar. Today’s webinar is a presentation from our partner, Revolution Prep, on “Navigating Test-Optional, Test-Required, and Test-Recommended Admissions.”

Anesha: Before we get started, just to orient everyone with the webinar timing, we’ll start with a presentation, and then we’ll leave some time at the end to answer your questions in a live Q&A. On the sidebar, you can download our slides under the Handouts tab, and you can start submitting your questions whenever you’re ready under the Q&A tab.

Anesha: But first, let’s meet our presenter, Dr. Sheila Hallsted-Baumert. Hi, Dr. Baumert. How are you doing?

Sheila: Good, Anesha. How are you tonight? Good. So glad to be with you.

Anesha: Excited to be with you as well. Just tell us a little bit about yourself and your background before we get started.

Sheila: Yes, absolutely. So c- couple of things in terms of how I came to Revolution Prep.

Sheila: So I started with Revolution Prep actually as a tutor in SAT and ACT, I… and then became their national webinar host. Uh, I loved that [00:01:00] title, and I, and I figured, you know, that’s a fabulous title to have, so I’m thrilled to be with you here. Uh, mainly because I’ve come from a, uh, you know, a long line of teachers.

Sheila: I’ve been in the classroom, administration, school counseling, uh, you know, really worked in terms of training counselors as well, uh, working with students, working with school communities, counselors, that kind of thing. So, um, you know, it is my pleasure to be here and share my expertise, my knowledge, uh, um, you know, all about admissions testing and how we can help you feel even more confident in this, uh, landscape.

Anesha: Awesome. Okay. Before we let you fully, fully get started, we’re gonna do a quick little poll just to see, um, who all is in the room with us. So if you are here, please go ahead and select what grade level you are in. I guess for students, what grade level you will be in in the fall. Um, if you are a parent or a teacher, you can go ahead and select Other.

Anesha: Um, and as we’re waiting for responses to come in, uh, I wanted to ask you, who do you prefer working with, students or counselors? But I know the answer is gonna be students. Um, so what, um, what… I guess what… Are there, are there… Is [00:02:00] there a specific, I guess, lesson you’ve learned in thinking about testing and testing, um, as an admissions component that you feel students should keep in mind, um, as about the test in general?

Sheila: So in general, you know, before I, I launch into the whole, um, you know, presentation and, and certainly let me know when, um, you’d like me to do that. I wanna- Mm-hmm … I’m very interested also in the, in the poll. But, but the idea is that you wanna be able to breathe. Give yourself that breathing room. Give yourself that ability to do some not only reflection in terms of where you are in this process, and I’ll talk a little bit about the timeline, but also in terms of what your goals are.

Sheila: You know, what are you going for? What schools are you going for? Um, that will also help determine, uh, you know, the testing for you, where you are in the, in the testing. Look at deadlines and timelines, you know, all that sort of thing. But I think the, the biggest piece that I would really give students, uh, you know, in terms of advice is to take that deep breath.

Sheila: Take that deep breath, and have a moment to both [00:03:00] reflect and have a, an informed conversation about what testing means with your application

Anesha: Great answer. Great answer. I love that. Um, absolutely taking time to breathe and think through. Um, all right, we will go ahead and close our poll. We have about 20 folks, 22 folks in the space with us, just so you know.

Anesha: Um, one of them is a ninth grader, one of them is a 10th grader. Our biggest group, 30%, are 11th graders. Um, our second biggest group was rising 12th graders, and then we have about nine parents and teachers with us, so majority rising 11th and 12th graders with us tonight. Uh, I will stop talking, hand it over to you, Sheila, and be back a little bit later for the Q&A.

Sheila: All right, that sounds terrific. Well, and I love the- the wide variety, and in fact, what I’ve tried to do is make sure that we have a presentation that covers where you are and how you can interpret in terms of where you are, i- a- as a- as a grade and a grade level, uh, in terms of what that means for your testing, right, and where you’re going to be, and- and as I said before, how you’re going to- to reflect on whether or not testing is part of [00:04:00] your journey and part of your application.

Sheila: Uh, I also, you know, wanna make sure that I can cover a number of the most common questions that we tend to get when we’re talking about admissions testing. Um, but of course, if I don’t answer a particular question that you have, uh, you know, as Anesha was saying, we have a, a, a Q&A, and of course, I’ll leave time at the end to get to that, uh, Q&A.

Sheila: So with no further ado, let’s take a look at the idea of what I wanna talk about. So the five things that, uh, really are going to be, uh, important for, uh, you know, today’s presentation is indeed that testing landscape and the institutional policies that are really sculpting that- that landscape, right? I really think that n- understanding those policies will give you a sense of, uh, the impact in any changes that have occurred, and we will pull back the curtain as to what those, uh, changes, uh, have been and what they are still, uh, doing.

Sheila: Uh, and I think that anybody who has taken a look at the recent headlines knows that this is a fluctuating [00:05:00] landscape. This is something where the goalposts tend to move almost on a weekly basis. So this isn’t, uh, you know, and I will certainly give you a QR code to the, uh, you know, to in terms of which, you know, um, universities are making changes and giving you an idea of which universities have ma- made changes, but the idea is that- Nothing is set in stone, right?

Sheila: And so in terms of how you are reflecting has to take that into account and what you’re, uh, looking for and looking at. And then I want to take a look at the actual format of the exam itself, right, in terms of the SAT or PSAT, right, in terms of the College Board. Uh, uh, they went digitally adaptive, and we will talk about what that means, adaptive.

Sheila: Uh, and the ACT has changed too, and where the SAT, ACT have gone and where you need to be in terms of thinking about these new formats. What does it mean for you as a student? What does it mean in terms of the actual format and how do you evaluate that format? Uh, and then we want to finish with how to build that optimal [00:06:00] testing plan.

Sheila: This isn’t about, uh, saying you need to get this score or that score. It is all about what are your goals, how long is that runway, and then what does an actual testing plan that is optimal, efficient, and one that reduces stress, what does that look like, right? So when we start off with… Uh, you know, I like to start off with the idea of our mission here.

Sheila: And just as I was saying, we are not interested in any particular score because it doesn’t fit every single student. What fits every single student is what each individual student believes in terms of themselves and in terms of their preparation, in terms of where they might be on this testing journey.

Sheila: So yes, we believe that it is going for the success of every student and the brilliance that is in every student, right? That’s what we’re interested in, the brilliance. And of course, that can also be, uh, you know, academic, uh, and because that’s closely related to, uh, testing as well. So let’s take a look right here.

Sheila: Testing [00:07:00] policies are a cha- uh, are changing. Uh, are changing, I’m about ready to break into song here. Uh, but the idea is that we want to be able to build that plan that leaves as many doors open as possible, right? Absolutely leaving doors open. This isn’t about, uh, being dream c- crushers, right? This isn’t about, uh, saying, “Oh, you can’t apply here,” or, “Oh look, you’re going to get into there.”

Sheila: It isn’t as black and white as that. It really is this idea of let’s leave doors open and continue conversations that actually are based on data and in… And that way you have an informed decision rather than something that’s a knee-jerk reaction one way or the other. So when we take a look at making sense of policies, we really want to have this idea of test required, test optional, test free.

Sheila: Those are the three main ones. There, there is one that does have what’s called test flexible. They are very few and far between. Uh, primarily Yale had that idea in terms of you could submit AP scores, IBs, that kind of thing. Um, [00:08:00] and, and just sort of think about, you know, what, what you are, um, you know, um, going to be able to submit in terms of your academic profile.

Sheila: Um, but we’ll get to that just in a little bit. But what I’m talking about here is test required, nothing to see here, really simple. It’s either required or it’s not in terms of test free, and therefore it… That is pretty straightforward. It’s the one in the middle, this test optional, that gets a little, mm, well, messy.

Sheila: And what we mean by that is that there’s much more of an emphasis on a holistic review of your application, and we’ll talk a little bit more about that, what that means. But essentially, no matter what the policy is, your test goes into an academic profile, and then you have in terms of other pieces of your application that are more subjective, like your leadership opportunities, your service to a community You know, how you have been able to shine outside of school, outside of testing, that is going to be, you know, something a little bit different [00:09:00] where s- uh, you know, applications are, are reviewed in, in, you know, in, in, in different ways.

Sheila: But academically, your testing goes with your- uh, with that side of the, um, you know, application profile. So what are we talking about when we mean optional? So very first thing is right there in that middle. Now, it’s not broken out in terms of, uh, you know, e- exact percentages, but right here, that 83%, right, is where we see optional, but we see it with nuance.

Sheila: And what I mean by nuance is that the minute that you begin to click a little bit further into the website of the university you’re interested in, right? You’re going to see perhaps the idea of test-optional front and center on that first front page, that often refers to the College of Arts and Sciences.

Sheila: But the minute that you start getting a little bit further into, let’s say, oh, you want to apply to the School of Business, or you want to apply to the School of Nursing, uh, anything that is STEM, uh, related, and for those of you who are not clear what [00:10:00] STEM means, I’m talking about science, technology, engineering and math.

Sheila: So STEM, S-T-E-M. Um, but what we mean there is those university schools, right? They’re either separate schools or they may s- be indeed separate majors or direct majors, direct entry majors. So I’m using terminology that you’ll see on lots of different applications. Those are often two or three clicks in beyond the front, uh, page of the website, where all of a sudden test-optional becomes recommended, highly recommended, if not outright required for particular programs, such as engineering.

Sheila: That’s one of the ones where we see really clearly where that optional becomes highly recommended, if not indeed required for direct entry So keep that in mind. Uh, we also have that test flexible, and one of the reasons why test flexible does come into play is because an IB exam or an AP exam, those are standardized tests, [00:11:00] right?

Sheila: Those are other versions of standardized tests, but just because we say standardized tests doesn’t mean we’re only limiting it to SAT and ACT. So that’s what they’re, they’re talking about here. They’re giving you an opportunity to submit other standardized testing, um, you know, pieces. The other is that I mentioned earlier was majors and, and programs, right?

Sheila: But the idea is scholarships as well. Scholarships is one of those pieces where if it is not… if a university is not using, uh, or says test optional for admissions, they m- you might be able to, uh, see quite clearly when you start filling out the application that for any particular scholarships that are associated with the university, that is, right?

Sheila: Might go from indeed optional to highly recommended and often required. And then my next to last column down here is that, okay, so it’s not required for the application, right? Or for admissions, but absolutely requested upon enrollment. And what we mean here is that you might be eligible f- to opt out of or test out of, [00:12:00] you know, your freshman class or, you know, a couple of your freshman classes like English 101 or Math 101, or for some state universities and honors programs, you might be able to place out of remedial math, for example, right?

Sheila: So having a test score can be really important and really useful for you if you want to look at enrollment, so looking beyond, uh, the admissions piece In terms of now when we want to take a look at historically, so I’m a trained historian, so I, I love putting in this slide ’cause this really gives me a sense of, you know, hey, what, what really happened?

Sheila: Like, why all of a sudden are we talking so much about test optional? You can see immediately that it was the pandemic. The pandemic altered policy. So what we mean by that was that in the fall of 2019, there were, uh, you know, an, uh, just a handful of universities that had a test optional policy. Well, after, uh, COVID and, uh, certainly into the fall of 2025, we see 75% of going test optional, right?

Sheila: [00:13:00] Or indeed test, uh, you know, free. Now, what’s interesting is that, uh, you know, the reason why optional and not just test free across the board is because in the fall of 2019, in fact, you know, even up until March of 2020, there were some students who were ready, some juniors who were ready to take an exam, and they did, uh, and they had a, they had a score that they wanted to submit.

Sheila: By March of 2020, test sites were shutting down. There was no place outside of a few, uh, pockets throughout the United States, uh, where you could actually take an exam, right, and produce a score. And so universities felt they didn’t want to penalize those juniors who did have a score, who had taken it early, um, and so they said, “Okay, we are going to go optional.

Sheila: If you have a score, you have the option of submitting it.” So that’s just to give you an idea historically, and now we see that trend sort of beginning to, uh, sort of move back, and this is what I was talking about, College Board’s full list of, of universities in terms of [00:14:00] required, uh, or those who are reinstating, uh, test required.

Sheila: Uh, and this is really going off of this past year and going forward, and what we’re seeing is that, yes, for those highly selective universities, and what we mean by highly selective is those who have, uh, you know, a, an admit, uh, percentage of in that 10% or certainly below, uh, but look at the universities that are looking at scores, right?

Sheila: And using those standardized test scores to help them make a, an evaluation of the academic profile Uh, and I’m pausing there, academic profile of the student in question, right? Um, and you’re beginning to see that pendulum swing back, uh, in- and as we saw before in the slides before, we’re not talking about the majority of schools, but we are seeing a difference, right, between what might be the College of Arts and Sciences and what might be the engineering school, for example.

Sheila: What might be, you know, for, uh, you know, highly selective or the, the top, uh, you know, 100, uh, schools where that [00:15:00] pendulum is going, it seems to be sw- uh, really swinging, uh, towards the idea of test required. So do keep that in mind in terms of where your goals might be. And then of course those in the middle, right, in terms of who is saying, “Well, possibly we’re gonna keep it test-optional for this past year,” who is now, uh, in that list decided to open it back up.

Sheila: And then of course we did see, uh, you know, as I was preparing this, uh, you know, particular slide, uh, that Princeton decided for 2027, 2028 to go and for, uh, you know, admissions, uh, requirements. All of this when, uh, you know, when you begin to really look at filling out applications in terms of the Common App, you will begin to see clearly where the, uh, different, uh, policies land for particular universities, but the onus is on you to go and research the universities that you’re interested in and go and see what their policies are and where you are in that particular, uh, place, place.

Sheila: So keep that in [00:16:00] mind, uh, as you, uh, you know, kind of move forward in making your list, right? Your, your, the, uh, the infamous college list. In terms of who is test free, the, the, the, the real numbers fall both to the California State University and University of California system with its full nine campuses.

Sheila: Uh, the most competitive being obviously, uh, UCLA, Berkeley, San Diego, uh, you know, Santa Barbara, just in terms of numbers, uh, not in terms of quality, let’s make, let’s make that clear, right? Just in terms of numbers and, uh, the number of, of students applying. But in terms of test free, what that means is that your, um, test score will not be looked at for admissions.

Sheila: But again, again, if you are going for a STEM major, you may begin to see things that become highly recommended, uh, particularly in terms of your freshman year enrollment. So definitely keep that in mind as to where that could be extremely helpful for you as you enroll, uh, once you are [00:17:00] accepted. In terms of why else you might want to think about this from an academic point of view, why testing and how testing policies, uh, you know, are interpreted, why they were, you know, made this, you know, way in, in, in, in terms of why they’re coming back, one of the reasons is because of this graph.

Sheila: Uh, now in terms of like entering in more information, you know, past, uh, 2020, 2022, uh, you know, right at in, in terms of last year, uh, the number of freshmen reporting a 3.7, and in fact a 4.0 and higher has only increased over the last… and exponentially so, over the last couple of years. Uh, so for parents on the call, grandparents on the call, uh, you know, what we have seen is that, you know, if you were applying, uh, back in the, um, you know, early, uh, you know, uh, 2000s, mid 2000s, you were, you were doing well, right?

Sheila: Uh, you know, our grandparents, if you were applying, uh, you know, in the, in the ’80s, uh, ’90s, that kind of thing, you know, you were doing well, right? And in terms [00:18:00] of showing off that your grades, uh, really set you apart, uh, and nowadays the applicant pool is that, uh, you know, over 85% of students that are applying to, and particularly, uh, you know, across the board, we have seen that they’re applying in a really competitive applicant pool in terms of that GPA, right?

Sheila: So keep that in mind, ’cause I know that, you know, a number of questions are, you know, about, “Well, if I have a high GPA, you know, I don’t need a test score,” right? Think about your competitive applicant pool. Who else is applying, and what are they applying with, and how can you stand out? Let’s take a look at the impact, right?

Sheila: And in terms of what that means for, for impact, I think we’ll really begin to, you know, pull back that curtain in terms of how you might consider applying test optional, w- and, you know, and, and, and what that means, right? In terms of are you going to, uh, submit a score or are you not going to submit a score?

Sheila: And again, this idea of highly selective, less selective, right? Where [00:19:00] might you be in terms of the kinds of universities that you’re looking at, right? And do they have a, a really low admit rate? A low admit rate, it might indeed, uh, be the moment to shine and say, “Okay, so I actually have a really competitive test score, uh, that will help me in terms of the competitive applicant pool,” right?

Sheila: Think of who your competition is. Like my, my at- my athletes out there really get this, right? There’s, there’s no way, number one, you’re just gonna practice one particular s- skill or e- or even a full game just on your own in a vacuum, right? Your coaches are out there, you know, creating scrimmages for you, uh, you know, and giving you a sense of who the competition is, you know, in the, in, in Saturday’s upcoming game, right?

Sheila: So that’s what you’re looking for, right? You’re also looking at your own skills a- and your own profile. Like, where’s your transcript GPA? And what I mean by that is how rigorous have the sch- have the, um, uh, you know, c- courses been, right? Have you had honors classes or have you had only regular level classes?

Sheila: [00:20:00] Uh, you know, are you really, uh, showing off that you’ve challenged yourself with APs or IBs, right? Uh, and think about, you know, where, um, you know, the admissions reps when they come and visit your schools, go in and listen, right? And go hear whether or not they really stick with the word test optional or if they throw in these words of recommended.

Sheila: This isn’t a gotcha moment. Ask your questions. It really is about like, you know, if I apply to this major, uh, you know, how, you know, significant does my test score become versus if I apply to a completely different major, right? And again, the data really suggests, right? In terms of what you’re looking at, what is the applicant pool, right?

Sheila: And we’ve talked a little bit about STEM majors and programs. Um, and then of course, are you that recruited athlete, uh, you know, or, uh, musician in fact. So keep that in mind And this is the data that I’m talking about, right? In terms of how top applicants, you know, are really signaling the strength of their application, the strength of their score.

Sheila: Uh, [00:21:00] it is because what they’re noticing, and this is the data, is because the applicant pool at Duke University is very different from the applicant pool at Bates College, for example. This is not a, you know, a, a, a set of, of, of charts to say that Bates is any, uh, of a, a bit of a lesser institution than Duke, uh, you know, but really to show what the applicant pool looks like, right?

Sheila: What does your competition looks like? ‘Cause one of the things that we really want to make sure is that students are having that conversation, you know, with their counselors, with their advisors, in terms of, you know, do you want to be with the, you know, competitive pool, uh, you know, at Northwestern, Princeton, Rice?

Sheila: Do you want to be in that mix, right? Because it doesn’t get any easier once you have, uh, you know, begun to, uh, uh, you know, be on, on campus, right? Uh, you know, or are you looking at, at, uh, finding your people, as it were, you know, at Colorado College or Northeastern, right? So the, the [00:22:00] vibe is very different, the competitiveness, those who are, uh, you know, taking scores, submitting competitive scores, um, you know, this is, this is what you want to take a look at, and how comfortable do you feel?

Sheila: That’s what it’s about in terms of reading that room So I hope I’ve given you a chance to really kind of understand these policies and how the policies really impact, uh, both in terms of what you’re submitting, how you’re considering, uh, you know, uh, uh, submitting. But you can’t do anything until you understand what the exams are, right?

Sheila: You can’t make a decision before, well, at the end of the day you have taken a breath and taken a practice exam of each. That, that… If you take anything away, you know, from, from today’s presentation, I hope it’s that, right? The idea of like, don’t do anything or don’t make any decisions before you know what you’re, you know, up against in terms of the exams.

Sheila: I’ve given you a sense of what you’re up against in terms of policies, but now in terms of what the actual exams are and how they begi- begin to sort of play out. One of the things to think [00:23:00] about is how the ACT is, you know, moving forward in terms of making the science section, uh, now optional. Uh, that too, and I’ll get to that in a moment, in terms of who is evaluating the science section, who has made a decision, and who is still, you know, out, uh, you know, in terms of judging that particular piece.

Sheila: Um, you know, there are more similarities than there are differences. That’s the bottom line for this particular slide. You can see where, where that particular piece is right in the center, the content. The content is essentially the same, right? Your math level, your ability to read and comprehend a text, your ability to understand, you know, uh, grammar and punctuation rules.

Sheila: The science section of ACT, it’s not that it doesn’t exist in the SAT. In fact, it does. There are a couple of charts and graphs in there, and there are science-y style questions in the SAT. It’s just that the ACT grouped them all together, right? But the idea is that you need to be kind of familiar with [00:24:00] what you have been learning all along, for the most part since middle school, right?

Sheila: I mean, think about it from the point of view of, oh, I don’t know, when was the last time you reviewed the proper use of a semicolon, right? Do you know how to factor your polynomials, right? Uh, do you know how to read a chart and a graph? Do you know how to decide between a main idea, uh, and an evidenced style sentence, right?

Sheila: So again, this is what you’re going for, right? And really thinking about what the format is telling you about your ability to shine. So in terms of the ACT- It is a, uh, you know, it is now going towards the, the digital version. Is much, uh, is a, a much shorter test. Uh, so you are given more time, although overall it does seem to go a lot faster than the SAT.

Sheila: But in terms of the actual ACT and the changes that it’s made, it has become more flexible in terms of the optional pieces. Uh, and then of course, in terms of it will continue the online testing, will continue accommodations. Uh, and the content update, it’s not in [00:25:00] terms of, in terms of, you know, the, the math, the actual content has changed, but the number of answer choices have gone from four…

Sheila: uh, five answer choices to four, right? So making it a shorter overall. Um, but you want to kind of think about, you know, the, the, the actual timing of it, the pacing of it, uh, and how it’s delivered, um, before you make any decision in terms of whether the, whether or not the ACT, uh, you know, is the one for you.

Sheila: In terms of that science section, so here I’ve just given you a smattering of, of universities that have come out and said, “Absolutely required.” I don’t think we should be, uh, you know, surprised at all to see Georgetown on that list. Uh, you know, it is the university that is known for, um, you know, requiring all tests.

Sheila: You know, if you’ve taken a test, we definitely want to see what you’ve taken and how you’ve done, right? But then we also have these, you know, universities kind of here in terms of recommended or for the moment not considered, but then yet. We put in that word yet because a number of these universities are interested in [00:26:00] seeing your STEM prowess, abilities.

Sheila: You will begin to see sometimes when you uncover, you know, in the application and you start filling out your academic profile, uh, you know, or whether or not you are looking at, uh, different supplemental essays, right? You might see a piece where it says, “So what is your level, you know, of, uh, uh, of, of calculus,” right?

Sheila: Um, you know, one, you know, a university in, in terms of Cornell, really good at, uh, you know, if you are applying to of, um, uh, their business school, not only are they gonna look for a resume, they’re also gonna say, “So what’s your level of, of calculus, by the way?” Right? So it, it is, you know, from this point of view of your academic profile is one of the strongest pieces that you are going to be submitting.

Sheila: Uh, and so really think about it, that if you are putting together a STEM, uh, you know, kind of essay or profile, you know, that that’s what you’re interested in and you’ve, you know, you’ve d- done all these clubs and, and, you know, all your activities and leadership, I don’t know, whatever else goes with your [00:27:00] application to show that you’d be great for, you know, an engineering, uh, you know, piece, but you shy away from taking the science section, eh.

Sheila: Universities don’t have time to question why, but you don’t really want to give them that question, right? You really don’t want to, uh, leave something open that perhaps you’d actually be actually kind of good at if you really gave it a shot. So again, take a practice exam of it. We have lots of practice exams, and we do offer the science section as a practice, so definitely take that practice because y- you might surprise yourself, right?

Sheila: If you’ve taken a physics class, if you’ve taken a chemistry class, a biology class, any science class in high school, you are already, uh, you know, set to do well on the science section Because you’ve taken a science class, right? They’re not asking you to be a professional biologist. They’re not asking you to be a professional chemist.

Sheila: Uh, so keep that in mind. Uh, then in terms of, you know, what we’re looking at for the [00:28:00] SAT here, the SAT, uh, you know, has really taken, uh, you know, some time, uh, and, and of course the, uh, this also includes the, the, the PSAT, right? That’s why they, they mirror one another. We really, you know, have students that take the PSAT, uh, you know, in their, um, you know, sophomore year or junior year, uh, and then compare it to an ACT, and then you’ll really have a good sense of it.

Sheila: Uh, you know, taking a, uh, you know, a PSAT followed immediately by an SAT, most students will score just about the same, and it’s geared for that. But what’s really great about it is that, uh, you know, they’ve really had a chance to kind of say, “Ooh, all right, we know what we’re doing now.” Um, these are the two sections.

Sheila: It is adaptive. Uh, it is definitely shorter than it had been before in the paper version. Uh, but I’ve also, you know, pulled back the curtain in terms of the actual number of questions and minutes for the reading and writing section as well as the math section. Uh, and also, you know, giving you some sen- you know, ideas in terms of what kind of math you should be reviewing, right?

Sheila: It isn’t about starting, you know, on [00:29:00] page one of any test prep book and going, “Okay, now I gotta do all of it,” but really in terms of taking a practice exam of each, uh, and then deciding which exam to prepare, right? Do not be that one-man band and think about, I know, being good at all that. No university accepts both, and every university accepts one or the other, and that is because they really are interested in where you are and which one you are going to prepare, right?

Sheila: So think about it from the point of view of the actual materials, right? I want to be really clear. I gave you some ideas for the math section, but also here in terms of the reading and the, the writing section, and I, you, you know, revealed a little bit in terms of the science section. But the point is, is that, you know, a lot of these things, like, as I said earlier, in terms of a semicolon, for example, you know, you learned a lot of the grammar and the, and the, you know, the, uh, punctuation rules m- at the end of middle school, and you’ve been asked to put them in place in terms of high school.

Sheila: Math is a little bit different. Uh, [00:30:00] those of you who are in algebra two, uh, or completed algebra two recently, great. You’re right where you need to be. Those of you who are in advanced math, way ahead, uh, you need to go back and review, right? And, and just as I said, you know, factoring out those p- uh, you know, polynomials, uh, and where indeed you might be.

Sheila: Because at the end of the day, one of the things that the, uh, you know, SAT, ACT love to do is kind of set out those tricks and traps, right? Because one of the things that, you know, those test makers do is they, they get together every single year, and they decide, “Hmm, how are we gonna catch those little, you know, smart cookies this year?”

Sheila: They try and trick you. Nobody is interested in having you fall flat on your face, but they are interested in like, “Come on, you wanna play?” Prove it, right? The idea like you have a high GPA in math, great, but that doesn’t really guarantee a competitive ACT or SAT score. So you really want to see, you know, does the fraction 7/13, and I’m hoping that a number of you are actually doing it, right?

Sheila: Do you, do you… Are you thinking about the 7/13 or are you really thinking about like [00:31:00] what is the bar over all those numbers, right? Um, do you know your rules for a repeating decimal? Are you starting to count from one and hoping to get to 304th by the time you get to… Right? You will have missed all the other questions that you could have really banked and do- done well.

Sheila: So yes, focus on the clock. If you know this is a repeating decimal and you know how to figure out the 300th and then just count up to the 304th, yes, you know how to do this. Uh, and the idea is that you’re finding patterns, you’re recognizing those patterns, and you’re doing the math. Don’t get freaked out by the clock.

Sheila: But also say, “Hey, I don’t know this. I’ll come back to it.” Flag it, and then go get other questions that you know well. Sleep.

Sheila: I can only sound parental when I say, “Did you get a good night’s sleep last night?” Nobody is going to get a good night’s sleep just before a big exam, before the big game.

Sheila: Everybody has jitters, everybody feels the pressure. It’s how you deal with that pressure. And the more that you build up really good, solid sleep over [00:32:00] time, and the more that you plan out your testing over time, the better you will do, right? Because fatigue makes learning difficult, right? Not just doing well on the actual, you know, test day, right?

Sheila: But it makes the learning part, you know, of itself difficult, right? So keep that in mind. The other is that this is a mental ex- you know, endurance, right? This isn’t a test of your intelligence, right? This is not about, uh, you know, quote, unquote, “how smart you are.” This is about your ability to marshal what you know within a timed, uh, you know, constraint.

Sheila: So the idea is that when you’re thinking about even just doing well, yes, can you do it well within if I give you only two seconds to prep- to actually give me the answer, right? Um, then think about it from the point of view of have you taken all day to figure out whether or not this needs a colon or a semicolon or a, I don’t know- [00:33:00] This is what you need to think about, right?

Sheila: Have you only focused in on one skill or have you really taken a full-length practice exam, you know, and really built up your time and your mental endurance? Think about it from that particular point of view. And the other is, you know, think about it from the point of view of, sure, a couple of nerves, right?

Sheila: Again, my athletes, my musicians, theater, anybody who has, you know, uh, had to get up on stage or on a, you know, a court and tested out your skills, right? Tested out your physical, and I mean physical. Like, this is a mental game. How long do you normally sit in an uncomfortable chair, right? The length of a class maybe, but two…

Sheila: over two hours, three hours, right? And really only focused in on ACT or SAT, that’s what it comes down to. So keep that in mind, that this really is about building it up. And again, like I said, my athletes really get it, the doing of the, the, the scrimmage, the practice exams, the dress rehearsal, right? If you are, uh, you know, a theater, uh, you know, actor or if [00:34:00] you are a musician, right?

Sheila: That dress rehearsal is essential, right? You don’t just show up on jeans and a sweatshirt on the day, right? You get into your outfit or you get into your costume, uh, you try on, uh, you know, your uniform, right? It’s all… and, and making sure you can run down the field in that uniform, right? That kind of thing.

Sheila: Keep that in mind as you’re building up endurance. Then in terms of which one is the right one for you, this is one of the things that really reinforces why universities will accept one or the other, because they have this. You can also Google this. We have this. Your advisors have this. It’s called a concordance table, and it will show you what, uh, you can compare in terms of an ACT test score with an SAT test score, and that’s why universities, uh, you know, have this and can it say, you know, they’re going to compare, uh, you know, student X, uh, you know, at a 25 with a student Y at, you know, a 1330, for example, right?

Sheila: Who, you know, has the quote-unquote “stronger score”? How are they [00:35:00] evaluating it? And what percentile, uh, do those students fall into? So your job in terms of where you are is to think about the actual testing format, right? The ACT is a fixed format. What you get on question one, or which I should say in terms of everybody gets question one, everybody gets question two, everybody gets question three, right?

Sheila: And so the idea is that you need to be focused in on pacing, you need to be focused in on, uh, you know, the, the speed, uh, at which you’re answering your questions and making sure that, yes, speed and accuracy go together, right? And really kind of think about, again, that full-length, uh, format and how you’re feeling throughout the exam.

Sheila: The PSAT and SAT are adaptive, and what we mean by that is that what you get on, on module one, or rather how you do on module one, determines in terms of what you get for a module two, you know, two. And, and I’ll take a look at that in, in, in just a moment. But the idea is that really think about the format, the pacing, the [00:36:00] style of questions, right?

Sheila: And really kind of think about, you know, the tools, right? Which tools do you like the best? Which ones are you really able to say, “Ooh, I actually can do better on the ACT versus the SAT”? I’ve… We’ve also heard students say, “You know what? No, I really prefer, uh, the SAT. I like that idea of the a-adaptive version.”

Sheila: And what I mean by a, a, you know, adaptive is really looking at the different modules, right? PSAT also f- you know, I’m gonna just give you a couple of scores here on the PSAT, just because I had, uh, you know, a number of students, um, and families asking these questions in terms of, you know, how does the PSAT even fit into, uh, you know, the, uh, the idea of the, the, uh, the testing landscape.

Sheila: The PSAT score that you get does not get sent to universities. But in order to get a National Merit Scholarship, you need to, uh, have what’s called a, a confirming SAT or ACT. Um, and so it really helps to have that PSAT. That’s why a number of, of high schools hold a, a, you know, an official PSAT in [00:37:00] October.

Sheila: Uh, the, um, College Board has made sure that a, a, a lot of schools have the full month of October to host it. Schools choose, uh, the date that works best for them. And the idea is that it is, again, adaptive modules one and two, both for reading and writing, and then for math. And in terms of your National Merit Consideration Score, that is called a selection index.

Sheila: It is not the score of your reading and writing and math combination, but rather your selection index. Uh, and that is determined every year, but it does give, you know, the idea in terms of where you might be. Excuse me. Gives you an idea in terms of the cutoffs in your very sort of competitive field. Take a look at where you might be if you live in California versus, uh, you know, on the East Coast and right there in the middle.

Sheila: This is just determined in terms of population. But keep that in mind in terms of, again, where your competitive[00:38:00]

Sheila: applicant pool might indeed be Just a quick thing about that adaptive, whether you’re SAT or ACT, the adaptive is you do well on module one, you are given a harder, more difficult module two. Means you have to keep that motivation, that per- you know, persistence, and that resistance going all the way to the end.

Sheila: But you have the potential to reach it to 800. If you do not do so well on module one, you’re given a lesser module two, but then you are capped. To finish this off before I open up, uh, to all of your questions and bring Anesha back to help, uh, moderate all those questions, I just want to give you an idea of a testing plan.

Sheila: So your testing plan really is determined on, well, taking a practice exam of each. And what I mean by that is that there is no way that you can create more time. I’d love to be able to do that, right? That’s a magic power. That is one of the [00:39:00] things that I would love to be able to do, is give everybody more time.

Sheila: But think about it from this point of view. Here is your pie chart. You are going to spend 10… upwards of 10,000 hours or more working on your transcript, sitting in an uncomfortable chair in front of a teacher, right? That doesn’t move. You also have hundreds of hours that are gonna be dedicated… and what I mean by over your high school career, but you’re also spending hundreds of hours on everything else, whether that might be, um, you know, being an athlete, being a musician, a budding scientist, you, you know, your community service, uh, whether or not you take care of your family.

Sheila: You know, wherever you might be, using those hundreds of hours outside of the classroom. Those pieces don’t mo- don’t budge, right? I mean, I liken it to, like, you know, having a job and going to your boss saying, “Okay, so I really need to work on my SAT scores, so I’m not gonna be coming in.” And your boss goes, “Oh, sure, yeah, you don’t have to come in, but don’t worry, I’ll still pay you.”

Sheila: Right? Or your chemistry teacher, [00:40:00] right? In terms of y- y- you don’t come to class, but you still expect the A. Doesn’t work, right? So those pieces don’t move. So how are you going to fit in the time in that little blue sliver in terms of test prep? And what we really want you to think about is the analogy of a runway.

Sheila: How… This is a big lift. So think about it from the point of view of how long is that runway? That plane needs a long runway to take off, right? So the more time you have, great. If you do not have that time, then that might be the sort of, you know, off-ramp here in terms of, you know, going test optional. So, you know, definitely keep that in mind in terms of how does testing fit in, right?

Sheila: Or, or indeed, doesn’t it? But again, it cannot be made without taking a practice exam of each, right? So take a practice exam of each. Don’t take them back to back, though, right? Give yourself a little bit of breathing time. But take a practice exam, [00:41:00] take a full length SAT. Take a full-length ACT, right? And then you can say, “Okay, so here are my scores.

Sheila: Did I do much better on one or the other?” Most students do really well, uh, on, uh, and do the, I should say, the same on, on either one And then you wanna think about, okay, so this is, this is where I am, and now I’m going to d- have those questions in terms of like, well, which one did I like better? Which format seemed to fit me better?

Sheila: Uh, did I run out of time? Did I run out of steam? Not just in terms of did I not know the content, but again, think about the pacing. Did I run out of time or did I run out of steam? In other words, did my mind, my head, my focus just give up? Another way to think about it is with this particular visual in terms of the practice exams, we encourage practice exams.

Sheila: A number of practice exams, but really mixed in with preparation. Yes, you can prepare on your [00:42:00] own, and there… We have lots of students that start off prepare- you know, preparing on their own. But what happens is that we find that a lot of students, and motivated students, quote-unquote, you know, these smart students, right?

Sheila: And you’re all smart, by the way. Uh, but the idea in terms of the actual test, a lot of students don’t have, uh, you know, an actual class that they can take in school, and so this is new to them, right? So think about it from that point of view in terms of where you might be, i- and, and think about, you know, the idea of like, okay, so I have prepared, but now I don’t know what to do.

Sheila: And you’ve hit a plateau, and you don’t know why you’ve hit the plateau and it’s not the score that you want. So really kind of think about moving from self-guided to a small group course or individualized one-to-one. But definitely set your official test date. And we recommend that you set two, I would say sort of one or two official retakes.

Sheila: Most students score better on that second test out there. They’ve gotten rid of those heebie-jeebies. They know [00:43:00] what they’re going for. Um, a lot of students are also going for, uh, you know, a particular scholarship, uh, you know, level, uh, or threshold, so that also might be a factoring into their retakes. But then work backwards.

Sheila: Really kind of think about, you know, what does one-to-one, uh, uh, you know, uh, private testing, uh, or I should say, a prep look like in terms of timing, but also in terms of look at the, uh, most common, um, small group courses, uh, particularly that we offer in terms of six weeks. Uh, you know, and, and yes, 12 hours per week or 12 weeks.

Sheila: Again, where is your on-ramp? Where is your runway? How long is that runway? And we’ve given you an idea, like for six weeks and going for, you know, let’s say that, that July ACT, you’re really looking at the idea of, you know, starting well last week for a six-week prep. And of course you can start now. Of course you can build something into, you know, the summer months and really look in terms of moving forward.

Sheila: Uh, you know, I also put in terms of the SAT, [00:44:00] uh, you know, in terms of backtracking it. But all that to say is that, you know, my example of the ACT just gives you a, you know, a sense of like how to even think about- Okay, so when do I even start? Like, what does this even look like? And of course, you know, we can help you plan, your advisors, your counselors can really help you plan, uh, so that you are using your time wisely.

Sheila: And use that exam, that practice exam test score to say, “Ooh, yeah, I didn’t know how to use a, a semicolon properly,” or, “Look at that, I forgot how to factor polynomials.” Start there. Start there So I hope I’ve really given a chance, uh, you know, giving you a chance to see what it’s like, uh, to understand those test optional policies, really understanding, you know, what is happening with admissions policies, what has happened to the actual tests themselves, and how that’s impacted students in terms of their preparation, i- and, uh, their ability to, to do well, uh, with, uh, testing in their landscape.

Sheila: And the last slide that I’ll leave you with is a QR code, uh, directly for us. Uh, [00:45:00] and I know Anesha’s gonna, uh, help you as well along those lines. Uh, but the, uh, giving a sense that no matter what, no matter what, start with your GPA. Start with your GPA, then, uh, increase those test scores and of course, everything, everything, i- in terms of a foundation, particularly when you start looking at applications to put together, uh, whether it’s going for National Merit Scholarships, ’cause that has a mini application with it, uh, or the, the big college applications, uh, you know, uh, that is your ability to master executive function skills.

Sheila: Uh, all of these pieces we can help support you with, uh, but I’m gonna stop here so we can definitely get to your, uh, additional questions, but I hope that I answered, uh, a good number of them while I was actually giving the presentation. Thank you.

Anesha: Thank you so much, Dr. Baumert. Um, we are gonna transition into the Q&A, as you mentioned.

Anesha: Just before we get started, I’ll read through… I’ll just want you to know how the Q&A will work. I will read through the [00:46:00] questions that you all submit through the Q&A tab. I’ll share them in the public chat so that others can see them and then read them aloud to give Dr. Baumert, uh, an opportunity to answer.

Anesha: If your Q&A tab is not letting you submit questions, just double-check that you’ve joined the webinar through your custom link in your email and not from the CollegeAdvisor landing page. If you’re ultimately not able to submit questions, no worries, the webinar is being recorded, and you can come back and view it at a later time.

Anesha: Okay, um, our first question for y’all to start fresh at the top of the chat. Someone asks, “Should you submit your score if you are in the 50th percentile of a college’s common data set or if you are only… or only if you are in the 75th percentile?” So if you’re in the top 50th, should you, or should you be in the top 25th, I guess.

Sheila: Yeah, no, absolutely. This is a great question, and it’s one of those questions that I hate to give the, the answer of it depends, but it depends. Uh, and one of the things you wanna think about is, uh, really talking with your school counselors because they will have the historical data in terms of who submitted scores, what those scores were, uh, [00:47:00] and really thinking about, you know, how you might, uh, be in the applicant pool in relationship or I should say in the context of your school- goal, right?

Sheila: And of your class, uh, and your classmates. So that’s the first piece. The second piece is to think about going for your goal. Your goal should always be towards that upper 75th percentile. Um, but in that 50th percentile, really kind of think about, like, well, can I m- do I have the time to move my score, you know, higher?

Sheila: Uh, and, and, you know, really consider and have that reflective piece, you know, moving forward. So c- consider that. Uh, but it does bear it, you know, in, in mind the idea that, you know, with test optional, it is those students who are submitting scores are gonna be submitting the really top scores. So you need to have that conversation in terms of can you move your own score towards that 75th percentile, uh, or is this the best that you are putting forward, uh, and having that conversation in terms of the context of your, of your [00:48:00]

Anesha: classmates.

Anesha: Awesome. Okay. Um, our next question is, “Once you’ve taken the SAT and have your best score, how do you recommend deciding if your sc- i- deciding to submit your score to a test optional school?”

Sheila: So it really comes down to your academic profile as a whole, right? Look at your academic pieces, right? The two pieces that are your academics are your GPA and the transcript.

Sheila: Those go together, right? So is your GPA b- based on just regular courses, or have you been able to challenge yourself with honors classes, IB classes, AP classes, dual enrollment classes? You know, where have you really shine… uh, you know, b- b- been able to, to shine, you know, academically. Uh, and then in terms of your SAT, uh, you know, whether or not that complements, whether or not it, it indeed gives you that additional boost, uh, or whether or not it is particularly on the, on the lower side, right?

Sheila: Um, but in terms of test optional, the option is yours. It’s not the [00:49:00] university’s, right? If you don’t submit, the university is not going to look at a score. They’re not gonna try and look it up. They don’t have time to try and look it up somewhere or try and find it out. They’re not gonna ask you twice, “Are you sure you didn’t want to submit?”

Sheila: No, they don’t have time. They’re really looking at what you submitted. What you submit is what you consider to be your best academic foot forward.

Anesha: I love that phrasing, the option is yours. I had not thought about it that way, but I think that’s a great, um, way to, to pose it to students. Um- Mm-hmm … uh, I don’t know if you mentioned this, but I, I just had a question off the top of my head of d- is there an advised, um, limited number of testing that you think students should take?

Anesha: Should they stop at three? Should they go to five? Should they keep testing until they get that score that they’re aiming for?

Sheila: Hmm. I think there’s… The analogy of hitting your head against the wall might be a good place to kind of think about where and why you’re hitting your head against the wall. Um, why you’re hitting a score plateau.

Sheila: Have you given yourself that [00:50:00] option of really getting the score that you want and the score that you’ve set as your goal? Mm-hmm. Whether or not you have time to go and reach that in terms of the amount of preparation that, that might indeed take. Um, whether or not you’ve gone beyond, you know, trying to do this on your own and you think that, you know, you’re stupid all of a sudden, right?

Sheila: That’s the major reason to say, “Time out, I need to reassess.” Um, and really kind of think about- Mm-hmm … in, in terms of moving forward that way, where you, I think, land from the point of view of your preparation. In terms of, like, the actual exam, there are universities who are gonna ask for all of your exams, right?

Sheila: So submitting, you know, 20 exams does not look good. Um, you know, you want to be able to say, “I took the exam-” Let’s say three times. Three times is the ideal. I’ve had, you know, cases and I’ve had colleagues that say they have a student that took it a [00:51:00] fourth time or above, only because they wanted to try to go for a scholarship opportunity.

Sheila: But there comes a point where you’re not going to increase, and if that student is increasing and improving, then yes. But if there is stagnation, if there is, you know, a, a different problem being un- uncovered. A lot of times we uncover a hole, for example, in, in understanding geometry, and that we have to take a time out and maybe reinforce geometry.

Sheila: And then the last piece that I would say here is that you never wanna take it at the detriment to your GPA, at the detriment of getting, you know, that top grade in a particular class.

Anesha: Can you say more about that point? Do you feel like testing dominates and, and would impact the academics?

Sheila: It will never…

Sheila: It, it can impact your academic profile that you are submitting- Mm-hmm … but it will never take the place of your GPA. If you have a particularly weak GPA, that’s where you wanna make [00:52:00] sure that you are reinforcing that GPA as much as possible, whether or not it, it… You know, and again, look at the time you have in front of you, uh, but you wanna be really looking at making sure that your grades are the number one piece of your academic profile.

Sheila: Mm-hmm. Past that, your score, a, a really competitive score can reinforce that academic profile, but it can’t replace it. Right. It can, in terms of offset, that is another word that, that, uh, families try and, and, and, and sort of see whether or not a, a competitive score can offset.

Anesha: Mm-hmm.

Sheila: It can help, absolutely.

Sheila: Um, but it, again, it won’t replace.

Anesha: So I guess a- along the similar lines, but to the opposite of that, a student is asking if you have strong academics and you don’t submit your, your scores to a test optional school, would the assumption be that the test scores didn’t reinforce your academic profile?

Sheila: Ac- excellent question.

Sheila: From [00:53:00] the conversations that we have had with admissions reps, and we do have these conversation, we really look, right? The, the question really comes down to the idea that… or rather I should say, at the very end of the day, admissions reps do not have the time, nor do they want to second guess what a student is submitting That being said, that being said, if you are testing poorly, you want to think about why, right?

Sheila: Did you rush into it? Did you not give yourself the time to prep? Um, what are your academic goals and where are you applying, right? Because the idea is that if academically you’re saying you want to go into medical school, you’re not taking standardized testing now, you can’t get away from any kind of testing if you’re going to medical school, law school, going for that GRE, going for…

Sheila: Right? Wherever you might be in terms of your academic goals, if you’re going beyond, certainly if you’re going beyond undergraduate, right? That’s where you’re looking at a g- [00:54:00] at a, at a, you know, need to be able to do well on a standardized test. In terms of like, you know, your, your, um, your goals in terms of scholarships, what are you leaving on the table by not having a stro- a strong s- uh, you know, score to be able to go and get a scholarship, or as I said, be able to, uh, you know, put your s- uh, t- uh, best foot forward in terms of enrollment, fall enrollment, right?

Sheila: Um, so I definitely think that, you know, also when I was talking about the science section, if you’re shying away from taking the science section, but you say you want to go into a STEM field, again, have a longer conversation with yourself in terms of what are you saying, you know, about your academic profile, about your academic, you know, desires to be able to do well, right?

Sheila: And this is, this takes preparation, right? Again, my, my athletes, my musicians, they, they get it. They may not remember the first time they knew how to perform Beethoven’s Ninth or, uh, you know, dis- score the, the, the winning g- you know, goal, [00:55:00] uh, in a lacrosse match, right? Uh, but they do know that they work on skills.

Sheila: They do know that they work on more than just, I don’t know, a C major scale and think that, “Oh, okay, I need to do more than that to be able to play Beethoven’s Ninth,” right? So the idea is that think about where you are. Have a really, you know, good conversation as to, you know, what your goals are, what your preparation has been, what it can be, uh, and then think about where you’re applying.

Sheila: If you’re applying to schools, obviously that are test required, yes, but go a little bit further. Do the research. Find out if the program that you’re applying to all of a sudden goes from optional to highly recommended. That shows your competitive pool right there

Anesha: I, I find your advice interesting because I think it also pushes students to think about the majors and think about the academic programs that they’re interested in and, and having to be thoughtful about, um, the, the colleges that they’re putting together for those majors.

Anesha: I think some students have it. The ones who want to be doctors and who [00:56:00] want to be engineers kind of know that, but for other students sometimes it takes a little bit longer to, to get to that kind of focus. Um, the next question I had for you was how should international students approach test optional admissions differently than US applicants?

Sheila: So international, so actually I lived, uh, internationally and, uh, worked in, uh, international schools and, and counseled international students. Uh, one of the things to think about, uh, and also thinking about US students applying internationally, is that a score becomes really important, and in fact, a number of universities put it as part of their academic, uh, you know, quote unquote, algorithm in terms of how they’re evaluating students.

Sheila: Uh, and that is from the point of view of, uh, not just their GPA, uh, their transcripts, but also in terms of a score. Uh, and what I mean by a score is not just an SAT score, but an AP score. There are universities that will come out and say, “Absolutely, we want to see, uh, you know, uh, five APs and all fives in those APs,” [00:57:00] right?

Sheila: Uh, in terms of the official score, not just that you got an A in those, uh, classes, in those AP classes, but that you were able to, uh, really go and get that five, uh, on the AP exam. Uh, so take a look at the admissions requirements per university. A lot of international schools also are, uh, you know, using, um, scores as part of, uh, you know, their, their admissions criteria, and they make it really clear on their, on their website.

Sheila: It also goes with a particular major. And then in terms of international students coming to the US, absolutely. What we’ve seen is that sometimes the ACT, uh, writing section can be used for an English language, uh, proficiency, uh, you know, test. So again, talk to the admissions reps in terms of how SAT and ACT are being used.

Sheila: If English is not your first language, that may be one of the reasons why you’re not doing so well, particularly on the English and reading sections of, of these standardized tests. So you can talk to your college counselors, [00:58:00] uh, you know, have them write, uh, you know, in terms of their recommendations, how that, you know, also plays into who you are as the student.

Sheila: Uh, you may be asked to submit, uh, you know, further evidence of English proficiency, um, but in terms of, you know, your, your international profile, whether or not you’re a US student looking to apply outside or an international student, uh, you know, here in the US, you want to really think about why or whether what your score is saying about you as an academic.

Anesha: All right, and the last question we’ll leave you with, um, you kind of talked about how the increase in test optional was happening, and I guess the question is coming from the increase of, of going back to test required, so are test scores becoming more important again as some colleges return to the test required policies?

Anesha: Where- is there a new shift happening?

Sheila: I think the shift, yeah, we’re seeing that shift, and what we’re looking or what we’re seeing rather is that universities are having these really, um, strong, reflective, data-based [00:59:00] conversations within their departments as to what a score reveals about the academic profile of a particular student.

Sheila: I think you’ve seen the headlines about the level of math. One of the most recent ones was this notion of, uh, you know, at, at, uh, the UC, uh, system, University of California system, um, you know, where professors are saying, “Hey, we would like to see scores reinstated.” Mm. Uh, whether or not they do, that’s, that’s to be seen.

Sheila: We have seen a number of universities are saying, “You know, the data is now bearing out.” Uh, you know, they have given themselves a five years since the pandemic, since they made the decision to go test optional, and are making decisions as to whether or not they feel as though the cohorts that they have admitted are reflective of the academic level or whether or not they need a test score to be able to reinforce an evaluation.

Sheila: So that’s what we’re seeing here. Um, it isn’t just a knee-jerk reaction of universities saying, “Eh, you need to go back,” right? They’re really looking as [01:00:00] to what does that mean? How does that impact our applicant pool? How does that implicate, you know, the, the number of applications, right? How does that affect how we evaluate students?

Anesha: Alright, thank you so much for such a knowledgeable and thoughtful presentation. We are gonna end it there for tonight. Thank you so much, Dr. Baumert. Thank you, uh, folks for joining and submitting your questions. Uh, we hope that you learned what you needed to about navigating admissions, um, in a test optional, test required, um, uh, and test recommended atmosphere, and we hope that you’ll join us for our future webinars.

Anesha: But until then, take care and have a good night everybody.

Sheila: Bye all.