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It is imperative to achieve diversity in Higher Education. With affirmative action policies under fire, it is becoming difficult to enroll a diverse student body. Many critics see standardized tests, and the SAT in particular, as contributing to the problem. This paper reviews research on such criticism, about suggested alternative approaches, and regarding recommendations on how to improve the current situation. In general, this review finds little evidence against a judicious use of the SAT. Also, alternative approaches such as percent plans or abolishing the SAT have had little success in increasing diversity. However, most specialists agree that a comprehensive approach to college admissions is needed. Diversity in higher education is a vital goal if higher education wants to fulfill its mission and have success in an increasingly diverse environment (Smith, 2009). However, policies currently in place (such as affirmative action) have come under fire (e.g., Proposition 209 in California, Initiative 200 in Washington, Hopwood case in Texas). Without such policies, providing equal access for higher education to all is very difficult. The former president of the University of California described the situation of diversity at the U.C. as being in great trouble after Proposition 209 was passed (Atkinson & Pelfrey, 2006). Thus, colleges and universities have had to come up with new ways to achieve a diverse student body. Since the rise of meritocracy during the 1980s and 1990s, institutions have relied more and more heavily on test scores (Alon & Tienda, 2007). However, there are prevalent differences between populations on several academic measures (Camara & Schmidt, 1999). African Americans consistently score about 1 Standard Deviation (SD) below whites on the SAT, ACT, Graduate Record Examinations (GRE), employment tests, military tests, and general ability tests (Roth, Bevier, Bobko, Switzer, & Tyler, 2001). Similarly, Hispanics score about 2/3 SD below whites on the same tests. Differences with regard to females compared to males also exist, albeit to a much smaller degree (.1-.2 SD). This achievement gap has persisted over decades and efforts to reduce this gap have not been successful (Hedges & Nowell, 1998; Krueger, Rothstein, & Turner, 2006). The increasing importance of test scores and the prevailing mean differences between racial groups make the issue of enrolling a diverse student body challenging. It is thus not surprising that criticism of high-stakes testing is common and tests are often seen as either the root of the problem or at the least contributing to the achievement gap and the limited diversity in higher education (Crouse, 1988; Gould, 1996; Phillips, 2006; Roth et al., 2001). This question of “are tests inherently evil?”(Sireci, 2007a) is hotly debated inside and outside the 1 Fagioli: Reviewing the Evidence on Admission Policies and Diversity in Higher Education

Is the SAT the Root of all Evil? Reviewing the Evidence on Admission Policies and Diversity in Higher Education