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Students Weigh The Pros And Cons Of Test Blind Policy

NIU's Altgeld Hall
Susan Stephens
/
WNIJ
NIU's Altgeld Hall

Northern Illinois University recently announced it will no longer require the ACT and SAT for admission and scholarships.

Arturo Chuatz is an accounting major from Elgin. He says the announcement doesn’t matter much to him since he is close to graduating. But he says it could help his family. He says his little sister sometimes struggles on standardized tests.

“She gets super anxious and she’s always like, ‘I don’t do well on exams.’ It’s going to help her out if she chooses to transfer to a four-year university eventually,” Chuatz said.

NIU joins a growing movement of so-called “test blind” policies.

Aleks Bojevic is graduate student studying business from Naperville. He says standardized tests are one way to show the rigors of college.

"Depending on what their major is, you might see a higher rate of dropouts as a result of that," he said. "People might not be prepared for college.”

Supporters say it could be one way to boost enrollment. NIU officials say they will focus more on high school grade point average in the admissions process.

Jenna Dooley has spent her professional career in public radio. She is a graduate of Northern Illinois University and the Public Affairs Reporting Program at the University of Illinois - Springfield. She returned to Northern Public Radio in DeKalb after several years hosting Morning Edition at WUIS-FM in Springfield. She is a former "Newsfinder of the Year" from the Illinois Associated Press and recipient of NIU's Donald R. Grubb Journalism Alumni Award. She is an active member of the Illinois News Broadcasters Association and an adjunct instructor at NIU.
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