I think that while reliance on standardized tests may help perpetuate economic and racial inequalities in the college entrance steeplechase, the tests themselves are not the CAUSE of the inequalities, but the SYMPTOM. Lower class and involuntary minority students are not taught by the K-12 system (and in some cases not encouraged by their family and peers) to prepare to excel on standardized exams (other than simply passing a high school graduation test). I taught a recent African-American high school graduate in a developmental English (writing) course. His writing was as good as that of students who placed directly into the regular first year composition class. He told me that he simply hadn’t taken the college’s placement test seriously. If he had known the consequences of taking an unnecessary non-credit class, he would have done better on the test (and in fact he was only a point away from exempting the pre-college course).

But neither are lower class students and involuntary minorities being taught to excel at academics outside of testing. Eliminating the SAT test as an admission requirement will do nothing to supplement what students are not learning in K-12. If anything, there may be an unintended consequence of discouraging motivated students from trying harder. Still, standardized exams are not a good motivator. That is the job of the educational system, and we as a nation are not doing a good job of helping the educational system do what’s necessary to motivate and prepare students for success in college and the world beyond.