The College Board has been testing a tool that could give the millions of students who take the SATs every year a score measuring their…
The College Board has been testing a tool that could give the millions of students who take the SATs every year a score measuring their economic hardships and other disadvantages, the nonprofit said Thursday.
The Environmental Context Dashboard includes information about students’ high schools, including the rate of teens who receive free or reduced lunch, and their home life and neighborhoods, such as average family income, educational attainment, housing stability and crime.
The dashboard “shines a light on students who have demonstrated remarkable resourcefulness to overcome challenges and achieve more with less,” said David Coleman, chief executive of the College Board, which administers the SAT. “It enables colleges to witness the strength of students in a huge swath of America who would otherwise be overlooked.”
The scores won’t be revealed to SAT test-takers, but schools will see the numbers when reviewing college applications.
Fifty colleges and universities, including Yale, Florida State University and Trinity University, took part in a pilot program last year to test what some observers are calling an “adversity score.”
College Board officials say they plan to expand the program to more schools this year and that the tool will be made available for free.
Early results from the pilot show that when an applicant’s socioeconomic profile is considered alongside SAT scores, more lower-income students see acceptance letters from colleges and universities in their mailboxes.
