HR0049 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0049 LRB102 10046 MST 15366 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives call upon the public universities in Illinois to study the usefulness and fairness of standardized tests in their admission processes; and

WHEREAS, The ultimate goal of analyzing the use of standardized testing in higher education is to move to a test-optional admittance process; and

WHEREAS, There are clear benefits to standardized testing merely being an optional step in the admission process, one of which is increased diversity; low income students typically score lower than their more affluent peers, putting them at a disadvantage in the admissions process; in 2016, the average ACT composite score for a high-income student was 23.6, while the average composite score for low income students was 19.5; and

WHEREAS, After the University of Chicago made the decision to go test-optional, it reported record enrollments of first-generation, low-income, and rural students; and

WHEREAS, Public universities in Illinois making the choice to go test-optional would not be unique; currently, one in four institutions of higher education no longer requires a standardized test score for admittance, and, in the last year alone, 41 schools have eliminated their standardized testing requirement; and

WHEREAS, A university moving to a test-optional admittance process is not at all synonymous with a university abandoning its prestige, as the standards for admittance would simply be shifted to the students' GPA, extracurricular activities, and references; a standardized test is not the only way to measure a student's potential; the choice to eliminate mandatory standardized testing from admittance processes can lead to a larger applicant pool for universities, thus creating a stronger student body; and

WHEREAS, The test-optional switch will be extremely beneficial to the low-income students of Illinois who have hopes of attending one of the State's exceptional public universities; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the public universities in Illinois to examine the use of standardized testing in their admissions processes; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to all the public universities in Illinois.