In some ways, applying to college has become more complicated, as students navigate a mishmash of policies to see if they still need to submit an ACT score with their application.
But the situation might not be so complex if a student wants to go to one of Wisconsin’s 13 public universities. Either way, “planning ahead really matters," saidTim Schell, director of secondary curriculum and instruction at the Waunakee Community School District.
In 2020, the Universities of Wisconsin joined other colleges across the country by temporarily suspending standardized testing requirements, as students struggled to take and submit test scores during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, the UW system and others are trying to figure out how to handle the issue long-term. In recent months, Harvard, the University of Texas at Austin and other schools announced they will require applicants to submit ACT or SAT scores again.
Meanwhile, test-optional admissions will continue across the Universities of Wisconsin, including at UW-Madison, through the summer of 2027.
The UW Board of Regents approved the extension at a meeting in April, with plans to reevaluate in 2026-2027. Regent Bob Atwell voted against the extension, saying it was a COVID-era policy and the rationale to keep it going “has passed.”
“I think that test scores, while they’re certainly not the only thing that should matter, I think they do matter,” Atwell said at the April meeting.
By continuing test-optional admissions, though, the Universities of Wisconsin will increase access and “identify a broader range of students who can succeed” at system schools, according to the board’s meeting materials.
It will also help the Universities of Wisconsin compete with other schools in the region and the country, as all but one university in the Big Ten have test-optional policies. Purdue University asks for ACT or SAT scores but recognizes that might not be possible “in some exceptional cases,” according to the school’s website.
What does the data show?
So far, test-optional admissions appears to be working in Wisconsin, according to early data compiled by the UW system and the Student Success Through Applied Research Lab at UW-Madison.
They found that test scores are a less reliable predictor of whether a student will finish college than their high school grade point average. Preliminary research has also shown that:
- First-year student GPA and test scores at UW universities have remained consistent since 2018, both when the test was required and when it was optional.
Test scores do not add meaningful academic information beyond what’s already collected in the admissions process.
In addition to GPA, there are other important predictors of academic achievement, such as high school credits, curriculum, leadership and co-curricular activities, among other things.
With the extension to 2027, the lab can analyze “a full cohort of UW students who applied under a test optional policy and matriculated through to graduation,” according to the meeting materials.
About the same percentage of Wisconsin high school students are still taking the ACT, but far fewer are submitting their scores to UW schools. In the fall of 2019, 89% of new freshmen across the UW system submitted an ACT score, according to data that the Universities of Wisconsin provided to the Cap Times. By fall 2023, 43% had a score.
So, how important are ACT scores in the application process?
While there were test-optional programs in the past, “the testing landscape for admissions has really opened up in the last five years,” according to Schell, with the Waunakee Community School District.
Some colleges and universities require a specific test, he said. Others are “text flexible,” meaning they require an assessment but applicants can choose which one. There’s also “test optional,” where applicants can submit a score, and the school will look at it if they do. Finally, campuses can be “test blind,” and they won’t look at a test score, even if an applicant provides one.
So, Schell said, “the question isn't always limited to should I send in my score, or is my score going to help me?” Rather, the question becomes, “If they don't want to look at my score, what are they looking at?”
It’s important for students to sit down with their families, “maybe earlier than they think,” to ponder what they want to do after high school, Schell said. If your plans include higher education, pick schools you might want to apply to and check what they require, he said.
No matter what path a student takes, the ACT provides good information about college and career readiness, Schell said. Some schools also use the scores in decisions about course placement after a student is admitted.
Depending on where a student goes, though, they might not need to think about their standardized test score much more than that, Schell said. For instance, The Wisconsin Guarantee and Wisconsin Direct Admit programs will generally offer admission to the state’s public universities based on high school performance.
“If you're looking in state, you have a lot of ... new options, in addition to traditional admissions in the UW system, being test-optional, to get where you want to go with no test at all,” Schell said.
Where a score might come more into play, he said, is if a student wants to go out of state, or if their school doesn't offer college-level programs, like advanced placement courses or dual enrollment. Then, a score could help provide more information about an applicant in the admissions process, Schell said.
