If we want a society that truly rewards talent and effort, we must preserve and strengthen the tools that make upward mobility possible.
Generations of Americans have sat for the SAT, long the surest social escalator for talented, but overlooked, kids to win seats at the nation’s most elite universities. The SAT has been woven into the fabric of the American educational experience, serving as a common benchmark that allowed students to compete on a, relatively level, playing field to show their academic promise. Sadly, misguided DEI changes to the SAT threaten to unravel this legacy, eroding both the principle of meritocracy and what few shreds of intellectual rigor remain in our educational system.
For decades, the SAT has served as a great equalizer and standardized measure that allows students, regardless of background, to showcase their abilities and earn a place at top institutions. For elite universities, studies in 2024 show that SAT scores were 3.9 times more predictive of a student’s success than high school GPA. Admissions offices from Harvard, Yale, and Brown, have even publicly acknowledged this fact with Yale stating, “Test scores are the single largest predictor of a student’s academic performance.” Even as universities experimented with test-optional policies during the Covid-19 pandemic, the return to mandatory testing at prestigious schools signaled a recognition of the SAT’s value as a fair and objective benchmark.
The new digital SAT, now shorter, remote, and adaptive, reduces the pressure and challenge that once made it a meaningful test of academic readiness and resilience. If a student struggles in the first section, the test adjusts to become easier; if they excel, it becomes harder. This adaptive model penalizes preparedness and effort, effectively punishing those who rise to the challenge while coddling those less prepared. Such a system abandons the meritocratic ideal and rewards mediocrity over excellence, erasing the incentive to strive.
Continue reading the entire piece here at the National Review Online (paywall)
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Vilda Westh Blanc is a Collegiate Associate at the Manhattan Institute. Tim Rosenberger is a legal fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
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