For years, ACT scores were a key piece to college admissions. But now, schools are putting more emphasis on other factors like GPA as opposed to one test. Amid the COVID pandemic, many colleges and universities made the switch to test-optional models to accommodate the cancellations at ACT testing sites.
Megan McCamy, college and career counselor at Central High School, said since more colleges enacted a test-optional model, more high school students have taken that into consideration. “Students who feel like they aren’t very strong test takers are relying more on their GPA,” said McCamy. “About 50% of our students are college-bound.
Definitely not all of those students are taking the ACT.” McCamy said there have been multiple studies conducted that have proven that GPA is a much better predictor of future success in college compared to the ACT. Having a strong GPA shows colleges that the student can balance coursework with extracurricular activities, which is likely to carry over into college.
“It’s different for every student,” she said. “I don't know that the ACT is like the end all, be all for success in the future. Not everyone's a good test taker.
So there's just a lot of factors.” Post-COVID, oftentimes students only need their ACT score for potential scholarships or programs. At Missouri Western State University, Jeffrey Foot, assistant vice president of enrollment management, said they currently only have a few programs that require an ACT score (.
