Dear LSU’s test-optional policy, you’ve been standing strong since 2020.
This was enacted, in part, due to stresses from COVID-19 and the subsequent issues that remained post-quarantine. Countless universities enforced a test-optional track; dare I say, all the relevant ones did.
However, now that we are so far removed from such a perilous time, some universities, like Harvard, have begun to chop the initiative.
Allow me to be the first to say that LSU should not remove its test-optional status. I see the appeal, especially when it comes to a potential thinning of the herd, but reinstating mandatory testing for admissions is hardly the way to go about it.
There is only one reason why LSU should consider test-mandatory admission: the campus is crowded.
Remember, universities are a type of business. LSU loves to admit more students than it can handle because more students equals more money. The test-optional policy allows her to do that with ease, even at the sacrifice of previous students, staff and campus comfort.
Thus, the only reason with merit is the strongest reason that LSU will never return to form; i.e. the university wants more money, problems and students.
More importantly, a test-mandatory admission is a bad practice that shouldn’t rear its ugly head.
First off, reenacting test mandatory admissions reinforces the idea of elitism in academic spaces. We all know it’s there, and we must do what we can to deconstruct it.
This ideology is enforced by saying that test scores are everything, and if a student does not test well, they are undeserving of a shot at a school like LSU, which is just not true.
Anyone with an ounce of sense can tell you that a test score isn’t everything. It’s just memorizing theories and formulas and knowing some basic grammar to get a good score on the ACT/SAT, which any educator will tell you is just the beginning of understanding a concept or field.
Beyond the fact that not everyone is exactly test smart, we must also recognize that college creates a new environment in which students (myself included) reevaluate their educational practices, i.e., more studying, better studying and more efficient time management skills. They do this because college is, of course, expensive and stressful but also because college is more imminently important for future success.
I feel like it’s time I address my most nihilistic viewpoint on the issue of “to be or not to be” test requirements: if they are not able to crack college, they will flunk out no matter if there is a test submitted or not. Not everyone is wired for college, and not everyone has the desire to continue with college once they arrive. They will drop out or flunk out.
The only thing mandatory admission tests do is prevent potential students who could make it big from getting their foot in the door to academia.
Garrett McEntee is a 19-year-old English sophomore from Benton.
