Hunter
04/22/24
A standardized test used mostly by private school and home-schooled students shouldn’t be used as a determining factor for admission to Iowa’s three state-run universities.
That’s the conclusion of a report by the Iowa Board of Regents, which recommends using the Classic Learning Test for individual admissions decisions and not including it in the Regent Admission Index until more data is available to determine its viability.
Iowa Capital Dispatch reports the board’s Academic Affairs Committee asked board staff and the universities in September to research the Classic Learning Test. It has been taken by at least 25,000 students since its inception in 2015, compared to the 1.9 million students who’ve taken the SAT and the 1.4 million who’ve taken the ACT in the past year alone.
The board concluded that scores in the Classic Learning Test has not been an accurate predictor of academic success at the University of Iowa, Iowa State or the University of Northern Iowa.
The website says current admission standard is determined by a formula called the Regent Admission Index, which includes a student’s grade point average, score on the ACT or SAT, and the number of required high school courses completed. If that score comes out to 245 or higher, the student receives automatic admission. Those that fall below can get an individual academic review; there’s also a test available for those who don’t take or submit their ACT or SAT scores.