COVID-19 became catalyst for trend of colleges waiving test scores for admission

COVID-19 spurred the trend of colleges and universities toward waiving the standardized test scores’ requirement for admission, but some local colleges, like Furman University, are already test-optional schools. Entrance exams and the trend away from them was on the agenda at a recent Greenville County Schools board meeting where school officials discussed the tests’ value in a post-pandemic world. The discussion spawned an article in The Greenville News.

Furman University’s Brad Pochard, associate vice president for enrollment and dean of admissions and financial aid, spoke to education reporter, Krys Merryman.

“We felt more confident keeping it test-optional to allow those who test well the opportunity to still submit scores if it showed a strong sense of their academic success, but some students are not great test-takers, so becoming test-optional leveled the playing field for those coming from under-resourced, socio-economic backgrounds and schools, and those who were not able to afford to take the tests,” Pochard said.