Impact on Covid and Test Optional Admission on Loss of Learning
Overall the panelists concurred that the faculty was not seeing the same level of preparedness among students, particularly in math, even with higher grades. To combat this, Princeton introduced a pre-calculus class, which students still find hard, and the University of Delaware offered a summer math course.
Rutgers said that since so many students apply test optional, they pay close attention to students’ grades in their math and English Classes. Villanova noted that the ACT scores are the lowest since 1991 with a record proportion of students not reaching academic milestones. The panel speculated two main reasons:
- The difficulty of learning math online, which set students back
- Not as many students are preparing for standardized tests, which in turn reduces the amount of time they review and relearn or learn math concepts.
Based on this anecdotal information, we encourage students to prepare for the SAT and ACT even if they end up applying test optional.
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