FairTest, an advocacy group that is critical of the way standardized tests are used, hailed Goucher's move.
The decision "continues an important trend in which particularly selective liberal arts colleges are recognizing that they don't need the SAT or ACT to do high-quality admissions work," said Robert Schaeffer, public education director of FairTest.
More than a quarter of the schools in U.S. News and World Report's top 100 liberal arts college rankings now use some variation of test-optional admissions, Schaeffer said.
Other Maryland institutions, including the University of Baltimore, Bowie State University and Frostburg State University, have said they're considering test-optional admissions.
Salisbury University last year waived SAT requirements for applicants with high school grade-point averages of 3.5 or better. Students who applied without submitting test scores had better grades and were admitted at twice the rate of other students, officials said.
The university has also seen an 11 percent jump in applications since it went to the new policy.
Information from: The (Baltimore) Sun, http://www.baltimoresun.com
- Associated Press
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