With the flurry of test optional announcements I wanted to highlight some of the best that I've seen. I've only been paying attention to this for a few years so I'll likely miss some, please forgive me in advance.

The Anatomy of a good #TestOptional announcement ...

Thread!

Let's start with DePaul for reasons. Now check it, their announcement speaks to their

1. Mission
2. Faculty support
3. RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH

Next up is the STATE OF OREGON!

The coordination among 7 "competitors" alone is worth noting.

highlights:

- mission of a public university system is confirmed
- research on predictive validity

https://www.outhereinoregon.net/2020/03/the-whole-state-of-oregon-goes-test.html

Centre College announced a three year pilot:

They cited
- research that had been ongoing
- previous limited use of scores
- qualification of test optional application for aid

"Events have simply moved our timeline forward."
http://centre.edu/centre-college-moves-to-test-optional-for-next-three-years/

Wooster's announcement drew my interest in the school even more than in their policy:

- student's were engaged in research that drove the policy
- engaging students that way is part of the school mission
- highlight the variety of factors considered

https://news.wooster.edu/news/2020/04/wooster-faculty-adopts-test-optional-admission-policy/

University of Chicago did it big

- paired test optional with expanded AID!

Clearly they have resources that many schools don't but I still appreciate the $$ and acknowledgement that the test isn't the biggest barrier to low income students.

https://news.uchicago.edu/story/uchicago-launches-test-optional-admissions-process-expanded-financial-aid-scholarships

I particularly loved Rhodes

- self reported scores for those that report
- citing previous practice of reading blind on scores above a threshold (LOVE THIS)

This image is from a letter to counselors

https://news.rhodes.edu/stories/rhodes-college-adopts-test-optional-admissions-policy

WPI's actually announcement might be lost to history but their advocacy since the announcement is unquestioned.

It's worth noting that the revision of the SAT in 2015 helped spark their change.

You can learn more about their research and results following @InsideAdmission

James Madison U's announcement in 2017 also had features that I like:

- made it clear that tests paralleled personal statements, letters or rec rather than transcript in importance
- pointed out that many parts of applications are optional

https://admissions.blog/james-madison-university-goes-test-optional-for-2017-2018/

in 2018 Ball State put out this strong statement:
- research driven
- preempts those who claim test optional is due to declining enrollment
- emphasizes that academic standards =/= test scores

TCU is a temporary announcement but this is so thoughtfully written I wanted to shout out @HeathEinstein

Highlights
- admissions is beyond numbers
- understanding of student concerns
- emphasize school mission

Kudos to all the institutions who have thoughtfully switch to putting tests in their proper place in the back seat of admissions criteria.