Whitworth will no longer require SAT, ACT scores from applicants

Whitworth College will become the first liberal-arts university in the state that will no longer require freshman applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores.

The Spokane-based private college announced Wednesday that beginning next year it will allow students to opt-out of divulging standardized-test results. While private, liberal-arts colleges on the East Coast are increasingly placing less emphasis on the tests, most colleges in this state rely on those scores.

Whitworth's policy change comes amid a growing national debate over whether the tests favor white and wealthy families. Affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, Whitworth has a student body that is almost 90 percent white. Room, board and tuition are about $31,000.

At first glance, Whitworth's move appears counter-intuitive, considering applications have skyrocketed. Two years ago, the college received 2,000 freshman applications, whereas this year it's on track to receive 5,000. The number of freshman slots has remained fairly static at about 500.

"This isn't the most obvious move to make at a time when the size and quality of Whitworth's applicant pool have never been higher," Whitworth President Bill Robinson said in a statement, "but it's the right thing to do for both moral and practical reasons."

Fred Pfursich, dean of enrollment services, said some well-qualified students don't apply to colleges like Whitworth because they don't perform well in tests. He hopes the new policy will encourage them.

"A four-year record from high school gives us more information and is a better predictor for their potential success at Whitworth than one four-hour standardized test," he said.

Pfursich predicts about 15 to 20 percent of future applicants will choose not to submit test results. Those who opt out will be required to complete an in-person admissions interview, not necessarily required of other applicants. Students admitted after opting out will be required to divulge test results so the college can track how the new policy is working, Pfursich added.

Whitworth's move was applauded Wednesday by the nonprofit FairTest, which advocates that colleges put less emphasis on the tests.

Standardized testing favors wealthy families who can afford tutors, said Bob Schaeffer, a FairTest spokesman. "It reflects what parents can afford and eliminates any possibility of a common yardstick. There's a gap in the scores by race and income."

But Brian O'Reilly, a spokesman for the College Board, which administers the SAT, said hundreds of studies have shown that SATs provide a good indication of how students will fare in college, especially when the data is combined with high-school grades.

He said it's "most curious" that Whitworth is doing away with the requirement right now. "I would think that with more and more applicants, you would need all the information you can get," O'Reilly said.

At Whitworth, about 4.2 percent of students are Asian or Pacific Islanders; 2.7 percent are African American; 2.7 percent are Hispanic; and 1.8 percent are Native American. An additional 3 percent identify as international or "other."

Pfursich said some of the discussion about the changes has focused on groups that don't test as well because of social, cultural or language barriers.

"There's a close correlation between SAT scores and income levels," Pfursich said. "We have a moral responsibility to look at it if there's disadvantage due to income or other factors."

Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 or nperry@seattletimes.com