What Could a New Admissions Test Bring?

The University of California’s Board of Regents voted to develop a new admissions test within five years or stop using standardized tests For Inside Higher Ed’s Admissions Insider column, experts weigh in on the changing landscape of testing post-pandemic — and what tests could or should look like.

Belinda H. Y. Chiu, author of The Mindful College Applicant: Cultivating Emotional Intelligence for the Admissions Process, shared these thoughts about the role of portfolios and tools like the Coalition’s Locker:

Portfolio-based assessments, whereby students can show their trials and triumphs by submitting material beyond a few essays that speak to their growth, interests and potential. Most art and design schools already require submission of a portfolio in addition to academic records. The Coalition for College has a virtual “locker” for students to keep a multiyear record of their work and projects. Some may argue that portfolios would encourage Instagram-worthy curation, so it would be important to broaden the scope and length of time covered and triangulate the sources of information, as well as to emphasize that the portfolio should reflect a celebration of one’s mistakes, experiments and curiosities -- a demonstration of growth rather than a sanitized facade.