ACT and SAT Tests

Historical Background

To understand the significance of ACT and SAT tests in the context of reform and dissent, it is necessary to look back to the history of higher education in the United States, at least to the end of the 19th century. At that time, there was no uniform university entrance examination system for university or college admissions. The well-established private colleges on the East Coast prescribed their individual curricula and administered their own entrance examinations for admission. In the Midwest, to expand the size of each year's freshmen class, state-related institutions of higher [Page 22]education introduced a number of innovative approaches. The following strategies proved quite useful: the accreditation of high schools, requirement of high school graduation as an admission criterion, and free tuition. Private colleges and state-related institutions of higher education were in severe competition to maintain a viable freshman class at each respective institution during a time when the demand for higher education was not expanding at a rate matching the growth in the supply side of the higher education market. Although private academies prepared students for private college admission, separate curricula requirements and separate admission exams made it impossible for college-aspiring students to seek admission to several colleges concurrently. Additionally, private colleges' efforts to recruit out-of-state students faced real challenges from state-related institutions of higher education, which offered better incentives. Under this scenario, private colleges had no option but to bring some reforms to their freshman admission procedures.

Charles W. Eliot, president of Harvard College from 1869 to 1909, was an influential, visionary educational leader during his time. He proposed the idea for the establishment of a general admission examination board to the North East Association of Colleges as early as 1894. His attempts failed, as private colleges continued to believe in maintaining their own institution-specific entrance examinations, which were considered a sign of institutional prestige. By 1901, higher education market conditions had forced some Ivy League colleges to come together to form a College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB). Nicholas Murray Butler, president of Columbia University from 1901 to 1945, another prominent leader in higher education during that time, was instrumental in establishing the CEEB, which was the precursor to the current College Board. By 1910, all Ivy League colleges had joined the CEEB by way of necessity for their own survival. The establishment of the College Board was the result of a valiant reform effort launched by some Ivy League colleges at the turn of the 20th century.

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