Merit (1920-1945)
Admissions Testing
Colleges and universities had used tests for admissions purposes even in the nineteenth century. However, the tests underwent changes after 1920 and the emergence of the aptitude test.
Tests for admission purposes were the College Board's staple testing program from its inception. Member institutions of the College Board used the Board's subject tests since 1901 for admissions purposes. The College Board's subject examinations were achievement tests that measured knowledge acquired by the test takers throughout the high school course of study. The College Board offered 45 different subject examinations as late as 1934. These subject tests were essay examinations until 1942.
In the 1920s, two different plans of admission to college became acceptable entry ways into higher education for high school graduates. This development side-stepped questions about high school course requirements for college admission and suggested that students could apply for college admissions under two different sets of requirements. The two plan system accommodated the two views - achievement and aptitude - about measuring merit.
Two plans of college admissions, therefore, were accepted for aspiring college students.
- Plan A: This plan required specific course work and a minimal score of 60% on a number of subject tests. The tests included a limited number of questions (usually 8-15) about very specific topics and subjects covered in the specified curriculum. Plan A could be viewed as a way to dictate the high school curriculum
- Plan B: Also referred to as the "New Plan," Plan B used comprehensive examinations. These examinations aimed at evaluating a student's overall knowledge of a specific subject and typically asked 100 questions. Plan B was more flexible and did not dictate curriculum.
College Board officials compared the scores of candidates entering under Plan A and Plan B. This was one way to compare the admission plans and the different testing schemes used by each.
As trends in testing changed, institutions began adopting the aptitude test for admissions. These new trends in testing promoted the multiple-choice aptitude test over the achievement essay examination.
College Admissions Officials began to prefer aptitude tests' ability to predict potential. The ability to predict potential tapped into beliefs that academic talent could be found in any student, regardless of the curriculum studied in high school.
After 1926, the Scholastic Aptitude Test provided institutions with measures of student potential. This permitted admissions decisions to be made independent of the high school course of study.
As more students applied to college, admissions officers at non-selective state institutions began to use the Scholastic Aptitude Test for its general evaluation and prediction of a student's ability. Specific subject tests were reserved for use at more highly selective institutions. College official at selective institutions used subject examinations for placement purposes and for identifying scholarship recipients.
