Following the university's decision to reinstate standardized testing requirements for prospective students in the Class of 2029 and beyond, Dartmouth conducted a survey of student reactions to the announcement.
approval of decision
Student responses revealed a variety of opinions regarding standardized testing requirements. 54% were very or somewhat satisfied with standardized testing requirements and 41% were very or somewhat dissatisfied. Only 5% of the students took a neutral position on this issue.
Although the majority of respondents said they were satisfied with the decision, follow-up questions revealed that students did not believe reinstatement accurately reflected student body sentiment. . Of those surveyed, 51% said they believed the decision to return to school did not reflect the opinions of the student body, and 17% of respondents had no opinion.
The handing down of decisions was also an issue that divided opinions among students. Slightly more students expressed dissatisfaction than satisfaction with University President Xian-Lee Beilock's decision to send a university-wide email, with 43% of respondents having a positive opinion. In contrast, 47% of respondents felt negatively. He was also 10% neutral or unsure. 30% of students answered “very satisfied'' and 33% answered “very dissatisfied,'' indicating that many students felt strongly about their opinions. Students were similarly divided on the soundness of Dartmouth's faculty-led research studies used to justify the testing requirements, with 48% of respondents saying they were satisfied with the research. However, 38% are dissatisfied.
Standardized testing as a fairness solution
Dartmouth College also asked students whether they thought testing requirements would promote more equitable admissions. While 49% of students said standardized testing requirements would make the admissions process more fair, 43% of respondents indicated that standardized testing requirements would not lead to more equitable admissions. The remaining 8% were neutral on the issue.
According to previous Dartmouth reporting, Dartmouth faculty who conducted the study concluded that standardized testing requirements would help applicants from low-resource backgrounds. When asked whether they thought the exam-optional policy introduced in June 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic disadvantaged applicants from low-resource or underrepresented backgrounds. 51% of respondents agreed and 34% of respondents disagreed. Of his 51% of positive responses, 64% expressed strong support for this statement.
personal testing experience
Approximately 81% of students who submitted test scores said they felt their scores strengthened their ability to apply, while approximately 7% of students who submitted scores believed their scores would hinder their ability to apply; answered that the strength of the application does not change depending on the score. .
Among students who did not submit test scores, 71% said they believed their scores would have a negative impact on their application, and 22% said they believed their scores had no impact on their admissions. Did. Her 8% of students who did not submit scores felt that submitting scores would have strengthened their application.
Finally, students were asked to identify the most important factor in their decision not to take the standardized test. The majority of respondents (53%) said they did not have the opportunity to be tested. This result may have been influenced by respondents in her class of 2024 and 2025, who may have faced closed exam centers during the pandemic.
The other half of respondents felt that test scores would not help their application (23%), they did not have the resources to test (21%), and other reasons not listed (3%) It was divided.
Methodology notes:
From February 26 to February 29, Dartmouth College conducted an online survey of Dartmouth students about their opinions on reinstating the standardized testing requirement for Dartmouth admissions. The survey was sent to 4,447 undergraduate students through their school email addresses. 372 responses were recorded, giving a response rate of 8.4%. Twenty-three responses were submitted after data collection was completed, but were not reflected in the article. All data reflected in the text of the article are approximate values. Using administrative data from the university's Office of Institutional Research, responses were weighted by grade, gender, and race/ethnicity. Weighting was done by post-iteration stratification (raking). The survey results have a margin of error of ±5.1 percentage points.