Test-Optional Admissions Rubric for Colleges and Universities

Donna Shaffner, a Principal with EAB specializing in financial aid optimization, oversaw the transition to test-score-optional admissions at several institutions she previously worked with in accordance with the guiding principles in this insight.

Read on to learn how Utica College, Daemen College, and Canisius College moved toward scoreless admissions by implementing an evaluation rubric, a new application review process, and strategies to combat over-scoring. Plus, explore an example rubric and an editable rubric template from the Enrollment Management Forum that you can use with your own admissions team.

The path to test-score-optional admissions at Utica College, Daemen College, and Canisius College

The approach to test-optional admissions at all three schools was really focused on two things: needing a way to determine whether or not a student would be able to do the work at the institution and needing a formula for awarding scholarships. Teams at each school used historical data to identify what had predicted student success in the past, and that data informed an application rubric they used to evaluate prospective students. In one case, they found that writing skills were one of the most predictive measures they had—specifically, performance in the Writing 101 class each student took in their first year. So, they developed a sophisticated rubric to evaluate applicants’ writing skills, focused on an assessment of the grammar, skill, and style observed in their application essays.

They pursued a similar strategy with the other inputs for the rubric: they identified an attribute they wanted incoming students to have, defined what the height of that would look like, and then built the rubric from there. For example, while traditionally they had looked for some measure of leadership in an applicant’s past, through this process they realized it wasn’t truly leadership they were interested in, but rather a level of service and involvement that showed dedication and consistency. They then defined what the best-in-class version of that would look like, and then calibrated from there, assigning a point value to each level. The rubric point value descriptions have become more descriptive and quantitative over time, as they’ve honed their preferences.

From there, they created a database that tracked:

• Each applicant’s name
• Where they were from
• GPA
• The output of the grid from their rubric (the total point value)