March 2025

Evolving Landscape of Standardized Testing and What it means for Students!

The testing landscape is complex because of differing views on the value of tests, the variety of goals of in admissions, and the ongoing reevaluation of their policies by many institutions. This has resulted in some institutions requiring scores, some recommending them, and some allowing flexibility.

Here's how these evolving needs are reshaping admissions practices:

Many colleges (over 18,000) adopted test-optional policies, recognizing that standardized test scores may not accurately reflect a student's potential. This shift gained momentum during the pandemic, as many institutions evaluated the student through other application components. Some universities, like the University of California system, have gone fully test-blind, meaning test scores are not considered at all.

One nearly universal impact of test optional policies was an increase in applications at competitive colleges. The question for many colleges, though, was whether or not this rise in applications translated to more competitive or more diverse classes and whether they were able to meet their institutional goals of shaping the class. 

Hence it is no surprise that even though some schools announced that the policy change would be permanent, many took this few years as an opportunity to study the merits of testing requirements.

Even though test-optional admissions policies are quite prevalent among colleges in 2025, some are returning to requiring standardized test scores. A few still require or value test scores, particularly for competitive programs or to identify socioeconomically disadvantaged students (MIT). Highly competitive programs at some schools, such as engineering or computer science programs at Purdue University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, require test scores to ensure students meet the academic demands of those fields. 

In recent times, we have witnessed some notable shift as institutions are reevaluating their test-optional policies. Some that initially adopted test-optional policies are now reviewing their stance and returning to testing requirements. For example, the University of Miami, Carnegie Mellon University, Johns Hopkins University, Rice University, Stanford University, the University System of Georgia, Cornell University, California Institute of Technology, Harvard College, University of Texas—Austin, Brown University, Yale University, and Dartmouth College have all moved to reinstate test score requirements or recommend them.

In summary, while test-optional policies are widespread, there is a complex landscape of testing policies, with some institutions requiring scores, recommending them, or allowing flexibility. This landscape will continue to change & evolve, as colleges analyze admission cycles and academic years of test optional policy. 


Here are few keys ways, how at Index CC we help our students:
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In other news, with the Trump Administration's cuts in federal research dollars, graduate school admission has been affected. Ian Bogost's Atlantic article (subscription required) outlines how the University of Washington. the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, and others have paused or reduced their graduate admissions, at least temporarily, because of freezes in federal funding.

At ICC, we've been actively working on how the federal DEI decisions are going to impact future applications, if at all.

Lastly, did you know that only 61% of rural 12-17 year olds said they can get a college degree in their home region, compared to 77% of those from urban areas? This was according to a survey from Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation.