Test-Optional Admissions Practices in the COVID-19 Era NAGAP
- Author(s):
- Haviland, Sara; Walker, Michael; Cho-Baker, Sugene; Yang, Zhitong; James, Kofi
- Publication Year:
- 2022
- Source:
- Research Notes
- Document Type:
- Publication
- Page Count:
- 9
- Subject/Key Words:
- COVID-19, Graduate Admissions, Admissions Testing, Higher Education, Admissions Practices, Survey, NAGAP
Abstract
The COVID-19 crisis pushed many schools to shift into test-optional policies for student admissions. An explosion of schools removed mandatory requirements for standardized assessments in their graduate admissions through test-optional or test-blind policies in the spring of 2020, with most maintaining those policies through at least 2022. ETS is conducting research to better understand how these seismic shifts in admissions policies affect the graduate admissions process and its stakeholders. We are learning about the goals of these policies, decision-making strategies implemented by test-optional and test-blind programs, and the experiences of admissions officers and department leaders working under these policies. To that end, in the summer of 2021 ETS partnered with NAGAP, the Association for Graduate Enrollment Management, to conduct a pulse survey regarding the extent and nature of these policies. This Research Note details the results of that survey.