This thesis is an exploration of the benefits and detriments of test-optional admissions policies at U.S. colleges and universities, especially in regards to increasing diversity on college campuses. First, the thesis is a review of the history of college admissions in the U.S., understanding how admissions have changed over time to increase access to America's higher education institutions while also continually limiting how many students from historically marginalized backgrounds can attend. The paper continues on to look at a history of the college admissions entrance exams, the SAT and the ACT, and how they've developed over time, before turning to an examination of the scholarship that details how the tests have come to show disparities in the results between white students and students of color, as well as research that shows that the exams are poor indicators of a student's potential for success in college. The thesis then turns to an examination of how campus populations have changed at schools where test-optional admissions were implemented prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, finding that there is not sufficient evidence to determine if there is any change from the use of test-optional admissions. Further, using evidence from analyses of the University of Texas and Wesleyan University, the thesis reaches the conclusion that, in all likelihood, test-optional admissions don't change the populations of students from marginalized backgrounds on campus. The conclusions of the paper find that actions to increase diversity on college campuses can occur at four points: application, admission, enrollment, and graduation. Test-optional admissions are found to increase the diversity of applicant pools, but when schools fail to increase the amount of financial aid and other resources to encourage students from marginalized backgrounds to enroll, campus populations don't change in a significant way. To solve this, a \"two-and-two\" model is endorsed, whereby students attend a community college or local state school for two years before transferring to a four-year institution for their final two years, a process that occurs regularly today but has few resources to support it. The conclusions also present other methods for increasing diversity in application, admission, and enrollment, aiming to present models for how schools can increase the diversity of their student bodies.
"},{"label":"Degree","value":["Bachelor of Arts with Departmental Honors"]},{"label":"Author-supplied Keywords","value":["Test-optional","Admissions","Diversity"]},{"label":"Administrative Note","value":"Drupal Node ID: 24130