Respected universities across the country are downplaying a student’s SAT scores in the admission process. Not Washington State University, though. Despite the national trend and the research behind it, WSU is emphasizing the SAT not less, but more.

WSU announced recently that its criteria for prestigious university awards now include a minimum SAT of 1200 along with a minimum 3.6 grade point average. This decision flies in the face of evidence that the SAT adds no significant information to what the high school grade point average already predicts about success in college. There is virtually no difference in overall grade point average or college graduation rates between students who were admitted with respect to their SAT scores and those who didn’t take the test.

Bates College, a private liberal arts school in Lewiston, Maine, stopped using SAT scores for admissions decisions 20 years ago. The overall college grade point average for students whose SAT scores were considered in admission was 3.11; it was 3.06 for those who submitted no standardized test scores. The difference in college gradation rates was less than 1 percent.

At the University of Texas at Austin, students who ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school classes, admitted without respect to the SAT, outperformed students whose SAT scores were 200 to 300 points higher.

Perhaps WSU is trying to be seen as an elitist school that takes only high achieving students, not other universities’ rejects. If so, their definition of a high achiever is greatly flawed. The flaw was confirmed by William Bowen and Derek Bok — former presidents, respectively, of Princeton and Harvard. They noticed that the use of SAT scores may serve as an unjustified barrier for college admissions.

In a major study, Bowen and Bok examined the performance in college and after college of 10,000 black and white students admitted to 28 elite schools. Their findings indicated that a 100-point increase in SAT scores predicted a mere one-tenth of a gain for college GPA . They concluded that neither the student’s quality nor the institution’s is closely related to high SAT scores, and they confirmed that use of SAT scores is not a valid predictor of student success.

The National Center for Fair and Open Testing backs them up. It found that class rank, high school grades and rigor of high school classes are far more valuable in predicting first-year college grades. After the freshman year, the high school GPA alone provides a far better indicator than the SAT, which is so flawed that the College Board, which develops the SAT, is revamping it.

We wonder about the true motivations of universities that continue to use the SAT for admissions decisions. Why do they try to convince us that the test is an accurate assessment of the quality of the student body – and indirectly the quality of the institution? Why don’t they publicize the well known evidence that reliance on the SAT may most benefit affluent students — the greater the income, the higher the SAT score.

According to the College Board, students from households with incomes close to $10,000 a year average 864 on the SAT, well below the mean. Those from households closer to $100,000 a year average 1126, well above the mean.

In contrast, many students earn a high GPA in high school but do not score well on standardized exams. To earn high grades, the student must consistently demonstrate an understanding of the subject matter, actively participate in and contribute to their high schools, attend class and complete assignments.

Family income plays a lower role in predicting the high school GPA. One cannot spend $1,000 at the last minute (the cost of an SAT preparation course) to fix a low GPA. Speaking as professors and department chairs, we would far prefer to admit students who have displayed a commitment to learning – and standardized tests are of no value whatsoever on this front.

Institutions of higher learning encourage students to reflect on the evidence and consider alternative strategies and actions – even if this means abandoning established practices. Ironically, WSU leaders hang on to the myth that SAT scores accurately assess student ability and school quality. The university seems to be shackled by insecurity about how it may be perceived without a benchmark of higher SAT scores, and by a lack of informed leadership on this issue.

When our state colleges and universities are turning students away due to limited resources, it is time that Washington State University follows the example of visionary universities and eliminates its reliance on the SAT. Until that happens, WSU is closing its doors and denying scholarships to worthy students, based on flawed criteria that principally serve the most wealthy members of our communities.