Corporate CEOs Urge Less Emphasis on SATs
Feature Story by Helen Norton - 6/1/2001
Corporate executives from Sears Roebuck, Verizon Communications, Bank of America, and other major companies urged more than 700 colleges and universities to stop overemphasizing standardized tests such as the SAT in admissions decisions, according to an April 17, 2001 report by Education Week."We are writing to urge you to stop the overreliance on college-entrance exams and to use admission tools that better measure the qualities that truly point to a student's potential for achieving future success within—and beyond—the classroom," the executives wrote. "As many studies have shown, 'gatekeeper' tests are an inadequate and unreliable predictor of future prosperity and productivity in life."
The National Urban League also released a survey of 200 top corporate executives indicating that business leaders value prospective employees’ character, leadership, and communication skills above standardized test scores, grades, or advanced degrees. Hugh Price, President of the Urban League, was quoted by Education Week as “contend[ing] that the attention paid to the standardized entrance exams leaves many well-qualified students out of the selection pool. As affirmative action has been scaled back at public universities, he said, African-American students and other minority applicants have been disproportionately affected by an overreliance on test scores.”
Character—defined as “integrity, the ability to overcome obstacles, and a willingness to admit being wrong”—was the characteristic most cited by business leaders as a prerequisite for success, followed by communication and leadership skills. Only 4 percent of the executives surveyed identified standardized test scores as extremely important to business success.
In February, citing similar concerns, University of California President Richard C. Atkinson called for an end to the use of SAT scores as a requirement for admission.
