Standardized test scores are the last hurdles for many studentshoping to attend college straight out of high school. For olderstudents looking to enter The University of Memphis or otherTennessee Board of Regents (TBR) Schools, no test scores arerequired for admission.
The undergraduate admissions application at The U of M statesthat applicants must submit "ACT or SAT scores, unless you are overage 21 and never attended college previously, or are a transferstudent with more than 15 semester hours earned."
Similar admissions policies are found on the TBR Web site andundergraduate applications for Middle Tennessee State and EastTennessee State universities.
Colleges and universities use standardized test scores for bothadmissions and placement consideration.
"The standardized test is a common denominator when the scoresare relatively current," said David Wallace, director of admissionsat The U of M. "Students over 21 who do not submit test scores mayhave to take placement tests upon admission."
Many applicants choose to submit ACT or SAT scores so that theycan avoid taking course placement tests upon admission.
"As a practical matter, we have a lot of people 21 and over whoare submitting test scores."
In place of standardized test scores, TBR schools use theCOMPASS placement tests to determine if new students need remedialor developmental coursework.
This specific admissions policy was enacted in 1985, said MaryMorgan, TBR communications director.
The policy change was a reaction to the 1984 settlement of a1968 lawsuit aimed at further desegregating colleges anduniversities in Tennessee.
A 1984 settlement of Geier v. Alexander, required thatdefendants (including the state of Tennessee) "... assure thatchanges in admissions policies do not have an adverse racialimpact. "All parties except the United States agreed to thesettlement, and the appeals process and litigation continued untilthe United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected theUnited States' appeal, therefore affirming the DistrictCourt�s judgment and authorizing the settlement.
Waiving standardized test requirements for students 21 and overmay have been a concession made by the TBR following this courtcase, Morgan said.
"It's also an accommodation for older learners," he added. "TheACT is designed for high school students, and requiring olderlearners to go back and take that test could be both difficult andexpensive for them."
Nursing student Tracy Marcus didn't have to take the ACT orCOMPASS placement tests upon transferring to The U of M.
"I transferred from Southwest Community College with 55 semesterhours," Marcus said. "The ACT has changed so much from when I wasin high school in the 80s that it wouldn't be fair to have to goback and take it."
Older students take the ACT, but the test reflects theirknowledge of high school material at that point in their life, saidEd Colby, spokesman for ACT Inc.
"If an older student has been using mathematics and other skillsthey learned in high school, they might test at the same level ashigh school students," Colby said.
Although Marcus said that COMPASS tests are a good way ofhelping adults figure out where they stand when they return toschool, other U of M and TBR academic requirements are problematicfor some adult learners.
"I strongly disagree with the policy requiring adult learners totake foreign language classes that they didn't have in highschool," Marcus said. "It's really difficult for an adult to goback and try to pick up another language after speaking and writingEnglish for so long."
