Why are my students risking their lives for SAT/ACT Scores? Why are College Admissions Deans LetTing Them?

I am teetering this week. I am dealing with a pandemic, avoiding dealing with the anger I feel over Jacob Blake, internally screaming that Breonna Taylor’s killers have yet to be arrested- that all feels normal to me. It is what I have come to expect.

What seems odd is I keep coming back to this one thought, “what if we get this wrong and the SAT/ACT is the reason my students end up with COVID-19?” Other thoughts inevitably flood in after that initial question, “will they survive? will they pass it on? will there be long-term consequences?” And, “am I overreacting?” Also, “will they really wear their mask?” As well as, “is it egotistical to think I have failed my students because I was unable to persuade them to go test-optional/blind this admission season?” I’ve dreamt of my students being the sole mask wearers around a sea of no masks during their SAT/ACT.

Imagine the world being on fire but your pressing concern is an ACT/SAT. That is my reality and the reality for my students.

I found myself staring at my students a little longer during sessions this week hoping that I could see something in their face that assured me that they would be okay. I was not sure what I was looking for and I knew it was illogical to look for a special marking or sign of protection. I kept doing it.

I deal with COVID, racism, and the movement regularly. It has no impact and tremendous impact all at once. It is ever-present and an afterthought. It does not disrupt my day because I cannot afford to let it.

But the dread and the weight of the impending SAT/ACT. The constant worry and concern I have for my students, who assure me they will be safe and are fine, that is what drove me to submerge my head in the bath this week so I escape the world for a second. That is what caused me to leave my house one night and wander aimlessly in the streets. I am unraveling from within with worry.

None of my students, “need” to test, yet they feel they must. I asked Danny Tejada, of We Go To College, about how to deal with being a test-optional/test-blind devotee who has students who want to take the test. He taught me to respect my students enough to respect their decision. I am still working on that.

I am not mad at my students for believing that the test gives them a competitive edge. They have heard the signals sent from colleges with test affirming language in their test-optional statements and they have been surrounded for years with messages that the SAT/ACT are important.

Has anyone ever noticed how many students in movies and shows characters studying for the SAT? I remember Pretty Little Liars powering through their SAT study group even though they were being hunted by a psycho murderer. I am not blaming the Liars for powering through. I am saying we’ve constructed a society where students learn that even being hunted by a killer is not a good enough reason to stop your pursuit of a perfect SAT/ACT score.

We cannot demand students to embrace test-optional/test-blind and do a trust fall into the arms of equitable admissions when we have told them for years that the test matter. These tests are embedded into the fabric of our society. We cannot unravel the thread of the tapestry of inequitable admissions overnight- I’ve tried, it hasn’t worked. However, I feel if we tug at the string and get one loose, we may just be able to start the process of dismantling for the future. One string may be all we need to get start.

I am not sure where I am heading with this post. I feel a weight on my chest and an exhaustion in my bones at all times that translated to words on a page. At times I find that I have to remind myself to breathe because I have been holding my breath for so long I feel my body starting to physically demand air.

I am terrified that my students will be infected with COVID at a testing site. I am horrified that we have created a society where admissions to college is deemed so valuable that my students are willing, ready, and able to risk their life for opportunities. I am not disappointed in admissions, I am pissed that we have made it this far and seen so few attempts to intervene. I applaud the efforts some of have made but know we have a long pathway forward.

We see the beginning of the flood of op-eds and articles about the value of college admissions test by those who have some past/current relationship with College Board/ACT, have research sponsored by the College Board/ACT, or make money tutoring the SAT/ACT. I recognize the importance of forming a team of advocates working collectively to counter those narratives.

I was not sure where I was headed minutes ago as I wrote but I am certain where I am going now. It is time for a change. I need a change. My students deserve a change.

I am calling on admissions to reconsider their approach to this cycle and end the hunger games that is SAT/ACT testing. State clearly that students cannot submit scores after a certain date. Establish a cut-off date for tests.

I do not care how many school systems David Coleman and friends tricked into a SAT/ACT day. Tell districts they can use those days for juniors instead, that you are taking off the pressure on seniors. Or tell them nothing and let districts demand solutions from College Board and ACT.

I write this call to action knowing it won’t make a difference. No policy will change because I wrote this blog. I have no rank, no affiliation. My voice is strong and unwavering but I am merely a tutor.

Every admissions professional in the country, many of whom will read this from home, will find some justification for allowing testing to continue. They will say it is “not fair to… [fill in the blank] from the comfort of their home office. Those reading it from their desk on campus will find a reason why this policy is not “well thought out” or “fails to consider…”. Somehow my calls to protect my students life will be found to be lacking.

There is always a reason to justify the continued use of these test.

There is always a way to normalize students risking their life for a score needed for an admission process everyone claims to be “holistic.” I will be told, “students who don’t want to test don’t have to” despite clear evidence that proves students feel they, in fact, “have to.”

No student risks their life during a pandemic to take an SAT/ACT for fun.

I will be told “if students want to test shouldn’t we let them…” and “yes, it is a risk but it a risk they are choosing to take.” That argument will ignore ways we deter students from taking risks that may jeopardize their lives. We increased the drinking age from 18 to 21 to prevent high schoolers from drinking, we don’t let students drink and drive due to the risk, we don’t let them have access to drugs due to the risk. In fact, we penalize that conduct at high schools and college campuses and threaten students with sanctions, suspension, and possibly expulsions if they engage in that way. In fact, some college students have been threatened with suspension and expulsion or loss of housing if they party on or off-campus while enrolled in college/university.

We take active steps to ensure students do not risk their lives with these activities. But we will let them risk their lives for the test despite knowing risk. Ultimately, admissions believe that is a worthy pursuit. We let them gather to test and, in fact, encourage it through our lack of action. Admissions is aware students are traveling across state lines, driving and flying to take this test, that hundreds of students will inevitably end up at test centers during a pandemic. While they may be spaced apart in the room, we know they will congregate at check- in and in the halls. Many schools are not open due to the risk but we see many testing sites open in districts that have voted to close.

We condemn college students for partying in large groups but permit students to gather in large groups for SAT/ACT test.

We have come to the point in society and in this blog where we have uncovered one fundamental truth:

In America, admissions to college is worth dying for

We expect, normalize and demand students risk their life for an SAT/ACT score or for a scholarship/merit aid.

Colleges admissions deans and enrollment managers are aware students are risking their life, accept students are risking their lives, will accept scores knowing a student had to risk their life to receive it, and then say in a collective document from Harvard’s Making Care Contact initiative that they “care” about “equity,” as well as “self-care, balance, meaningful learning, and care for others.” They will commit to a collective statement while accepting students are risking their life for a test.

As I said, I am tired. And while I will not give up the fight, I wonder why I have to fight to keep my students from risking their lives for a college acceptance letter. Why am I doing the work the College Deans who said they care promised they would be doing?

Why do I have to sit down, write a blog, and tell the world I think it is wrong to allow students to risk their life to test?

As Martin Luther King once said, “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” Admissions Deans and Enrollment Managers are aware students are risking their life to test and their silence/refusal to enact policies to prevent Continued testing makes them complicit in this endeavor. Silence is a betrayal. in this case, silence may be deadly.