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West Virginia University has again extended its test optional admission policy for the ACT and SAT. The extension does not apply to all cases, as there are still some majors that require certain test scores for admission. But as WVU has decided now that there are cases for which ACT and SAT scores are not required for admission through the spring 2024 term it begs the question, should the requirement be eliminated permanently?

Providing students the flexibility to choose whether or not standardized tests are included in their college applications allows them to feel more in control of the process, said George Zimmerman, WVU assistant vice president for enrollment management.

It also saves them money, or perhaps opens doors to students who were not able to pay to take the tests more than once.

Though the change began as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems now as though the reasons for extending the policy have everything to do with better serving students in an evolving academic world.

The pandemic has changed the way many people live their daily lives, Zimmerman said. Higher education is not immune to these types of changes. Test optional admissions has allowed schools across the country to provide students with new choices when it comes to applying to college. The pandemic made this shift necessary and we have seen students embrace test optional admissions processes as part of their college search.

Attention does need to paid to ensure students who otherwise may not have been prepared for a four-year college do not take on massive amounts of debt, only to struggle and possibly drop out of college. The issue is more nuanced than just saying we dont need standardized tests for students, and WVU officials will need to scrutinize the data over the next few years.

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