芝加哥大学录取出重招，哈佛、耶鲁纷弃SAT！中国留学生又该如何应对？

In the last two weeks, there have been two interesting developments in the college admission process. And when I say interesting, they are indeed interesting.

过去的两周里，美国大学的录取政策发生了两类有意思的变化。我这样说是因为这些变化真的很有趣。

For the last several months (actually a lot longer than that) there has been a great deal of consternation over the SAT and ACT Writing sections. There have been questions about the validity of the essay, the purpose of the essay and whether colleges actually read the essay. Then along came Harvard who several months ago made the essay optional for both tests. Two weeks ago, Yale dropped the whole thing – the essay, to join most of the universities in the country who longer require the SAT/ACT writing sections. This now leaves approximately 25 schools left who still require it.

数月前（事实上还要更久一些），SAT和ACT的写作部分曾引起了极大的恐慌。而关于小论文的有效性、写作目的以及大学是否真的会阅读的争议一直从未间断过。随后的几个月前，哈佛大学将这两项测试的写作部分定位成了可选项目。两周前，耶鲁取消了有关写作部分的所有事项，从而加入了不需要SAT和ACT写作部分的学校队伍。目前，大约有25所学校任然需要写作部分。

Why have colleges started to move away from this particular piece of testing? Many say that the additional time required for students to prepare is an undue burden. Others claim they never really read the essays and others still say the SAT in particular, is just too long. Many in the college field say the section (ACT and SAT Writing) should be eliminated all together. When a school states that anything is “optional” students still feel compelled to complete whatever that optional exercise is feeling that they may be jeopardize their applications.

为什么大学开始摆脱这种特殊的测试？许多人说，学生准备考试所需的额外时间是一种不必要的负担。也有人声称，学校从来没有真正阅读过SAT和ACT的写作部分，尤其是篇幅很长的SAT。还有一些在大学领域的人认为ACT和SAT写作部分应该一起被淘汰。当一所学校声称考试的任何部分是“可选的”时，学生仍然觉得不得不完成这些可选项目的练习，因为那些可能会危及他们的申请。

But we need to look a little further than just the admission process, many school districts require students to take the SAT, causing not only students to pay the fees for testing (admissions) and the additional cost of the essay section, but also taxpayers in the States that require those tests. Many further claim that the essay is lining the coffers of College Board and ACT.

但是我们需要考虑的不仅仅是入学过程，许多学校都会要求学生参加SAT考试，不仅让学生支付考试费用（招生）和写作部分的额外费用，那些本州的纳税人也同样需要支付上述费用。许多人进一步声称，写作部分正在为College Board和ACT筹钱。

The most stunning announcement came this week when the University of Chicago joined the growing list of schools going Test Optional (See Fairtest.org) for the list more than 1000 other schools. As one of the top research institutions in the US, this is big news and brings further into question the purpose of SAT and ACT in the admission process.

本周最令人惊叹的消息是芝加哥大学也加入了这个已经有超过100所学校加入的Test Optional名单中（具体请参见Fairtest.org）。作为美国最顶尖的研究机构之一，这是一个重大新闻，并进一步质疑了SAT和ACT在录取过程中的目的。

As another stab at testing and the companies who make them, this is big news. For a long time claimants against testing have felt that due to test preparation has empowered the rich and wealthy and further burdened the poor and disenfranchised. There is some truth to that statement but even further, test preparation companies have saddled students with enormous pressure beyond school, forcing families to believe that without appropriate test prep, their children will not be competitive. Further, test prep has created a validity problem. Test prep boot camps challenged the purpose of standardized testing. When a student spends months (particularly here in China) preparing for testing either through memorizing or strategizing, is there any validity remaining.

这是一个重大的消息。很长一段时间，反对测试的申诉人认为，由于准备考试，富人被赋予了更多的主动权，并进一步加深穷人和被剥夺公民权的人的负担。这种说法有些道理，但更进一步说，备考机构已经给学生带来了超越学校的巨大压力，迫使许多家庭认为没有适当的考试准备，他们的孩子就没有竞争力。此外，考试准备已经产生了一个有效性问题。备考训练营挑战了标准化测试的目的。当一个学生花费数月时间（特别是在中国）通过记忆或策略准备测试时，这是否真的对学生未来的在校发展和成功有实质意义？

What is further interesting is that both of these schools taking steps further than Harvard, typically the standard by which all schools balance their admission practices. Rarely has a top school set a path unless Harvard has made the initial move.

更令人感兴趣的是，耶鲁和芝加哥大学这两所学校在测试改革方面都比哈佛更领先。一般情况下，哈佛做了什么决定仿佛成为了所有学校的标准——除非哈佛已经采取了某些举措，否则很少有另一所顶尖学校会成为领头羊。

Before jumping into that arena, it is important to make something particularly clear. University of Chicago will NOT be easier to get into. They will be looking for more evidence that the student “fits” their uniqueness either through essays and other evidence as proof of academic talent. For international students, some form of standardized testing is still required – A-Level or IB. Interestingly they do not mention AP. In the end, UChicago is still UChicago and they will be looking for those who can achieve and be a part of their academic culture.

即便如此，作为申请者（特别是国际学生），我们需要清晰地了解以下事情：芝加哥大学并不会因此而变得容易考取。他们将会寻找更多的依据，通过申请文书和其他考核作为学术才能的证明来找到“符合”他们的独特性。对于国际学生来说，仍然需要参加某种形式的标准化考试 - A-Level或IB。有趣的是，他们没有提到AP考试。最终，芝加哥大学仍然是芝加哥大学，他们将寻找那些能够实现并成为其学术文化一部分的人。

So, what does this all portend? Changes are coming, that is for sure. When two top players break away from the pack, others will surely follow. To what end it will be hard to surmise. What is certainly does do, is begin to change the landscape of required standardized testing and its relevance. One can only hope that more will follow the path laid out by Chicago and go Test Optional allowing students to focus on more important things like their education. With one less thing to worry about, perhaps students will take up the mantle and truly engage in learning for the sake of learning and not for a test.

那么，这一切都预示着什么？可以肯定的是，变化即将到来。当两名顶尖选手脱离组织时，其他人肯定会紧随其后。为了什么目的，很难推测。但能够确定的是，标准化考试的行业正在经历一场前所未有的变革。作为坚守核心能力为王的专业教育顾问，我只能期盼有更多的顶尖学府能够遵循芝加哥大学走过的路径，成为不需要标准化考试的院校（Test Optional），这样可以让学生专注于更重要的事情。少一件担心的事情，也许学生反而会担起更多责任，真正在学习中钻研，而不再只是为了测试。

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