According to a recent article in USA Today, University of California System President Richard C. Atkinson has recommended that the SAT I exam be dropped from admission procedures at the nine University of California schools.

“Anyone involved in education should be concerned about how overemphasis on the SAT is distorting educational priorities and practices,” said Atkinson.

In response to the ongoing SAT controversy, administrators at N.C. Central University have formed a committee to reevaluate current admissions procedures.

According to Roland Gaines, NCCU director of enrollment management, the committee will review the strengths and weaknesses of the current process and make recommendations to Chancellor James Ammons.

“UC-Berkeley verified what we already knew and felt,” said Gaines of the accusations that the SAT I exam alone is not a fair prediction of a student’s success.

“It is a very powerful statement when an institution such as U.C.-Berkeley decides to cut the SAT I from admissions,” said Walter Harris, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs.

Harris said that, while he does not think that decision will have much of an impact in North Carolina, NCCU is looking toward restructuring the admissions process to look at more factors when admitting a student.

“I feel that, used in conjunction with other measures such as rank, standing, and difficulty in high school curriculum, the SAT I exam is an effective device,” he said.

The university may also reconsider its SAT I cut-off score, which is 750 for in-state applicants, Harris said.

Currently, the NCCU admissions office follows state-mandated guidelines for admission. Since 1990, the 16 schools in the UNC system have been required to consider the minimum course requirements set by the state when admitting a student, according to Jocelyn Foy, director of admissions.

In addition, she said NCCU is required to keep out-of-state freshmen enrollment at 18 percent, thus the higher SAT requirement of 850 for out-of-state students.

“Completion of course requirements is what I look at first. Secondly, I consider performance in the courses. SAT scores are third on my list,” she said.

Foy says that consistent success in challenging classes is a more accurate prediction of a student’s college career.

“The SAT score tells me how well a student is able to perform on one test,” she said.

Chancellor James Ammons said that the committee will “broaden the criteria used for admitting students to make the requirements more holistic.”

“I feel that the requirements discourage capable students who are in our primary constituency from applying to NCCU,” he said.

However, the real controversy is whether or not the SAT I exam is an accurate and unbiased determinant in the college admissions process.

According to the USA Today article, “the SAT increasingly is playing a pivotal role in the affirmative action debate raging across college campuses nationwide because black and Hispanic test-takers on average score lower than white and Asian students.”

While NCCU students average 860 on the SAT I exam, some administrators agree that the test does not always parallel success.

“I’ve seen a kid with a 1400 flunk out of school and a kid with a 600 graduate,” said Gaines, who came to NCCU from Florida A&M University after 33 years of working with campus enrollment.

Drive, motivation, and “fire,” according to Gaines, are the major determinants of academic success in college.

“Because the SAT is how we are judged, we must refute the stereotype and increase retention and graduation rates at NCCU.

“We can’t let anyone tell us we’re not smart. We must prove that the scores aren’t that important,” said Gaines.

Ammons agreed that the SAT I exam should not be the sole factor in the admissions process.

“If an admissions officer looked only at my entrance examination scores, I probably would not have been admitted to college. I was, however, an exceptional student because I worked hard and wanted to excel,” he said.

According to the USA Today article, the major reasoning behind the UC decision is the removal of race from admission procedures in 1995 in the UC system. Since then, the system has been “searching for ways to maintain racial diversity.”

Ammons said that the SAT I exam “sometimes measures resources more than it does reasoning.”

“What I think it really does is measure one’s exposure to a lifestyle that provides you with the skills and vocabulary necessary to master the test. There is a correlation between SAT scores and family income,” he said.

Joseph Aicher, professor of political science, agreed that the bias of the SAT I exam is based more on economics rather than race.

“When there is a steady family structure, students of all races do well,” said Aicher, who has been teaching SAT preparatory courses for eight years.

He says that it’s “unfair that those who can pay for expensive SAT prep courses have the upper hand.” According to Aicher, he can teach you “how” to take the test.

After his dissatisfaction with the SAT I scores of his children, he saw the mistakes they were making and decided to help other students “attack” the test.

Aicher was not hired through a major SAT preparatory agency. He created his own workshop and offers it to high school students across the state.

“The test measures whether or not you can change your attitude and the way you think,” he said.

Aicher agrees that the SAT I exam should not be the sole determinant in admissions, but says that the test makes it fair.

“If all schools could make up their own admittance tests, they could admit whomever they wanted,” said Aicher.

That, however, is not the goal of NCCU’s enrollment office, according to Gaines.

The new guidelines, he said, will put more weight on other factors that may determine how well a student may do in college.

“I agree with UC-Berkeley,” he said, “However, we intend to look at other strengths along with the SAT scores.”

Also, according to Foy, NCCU’s average SAT I score of 860 surpasses the state average of 800.

“Universities and colleges that have higher SAT I scores on their profiles have the resources to offer more scholarships that will attract students,” she said.

Ammons also responded to NCCU’s academic profile.

“I do not feel that it is a predictor of the caliber of student that we have at NCCU,” he said. With the new provisions, NCCU hopes to attract more scholars and improve the academic profile, said Foy.

Foy also believes that the UC decision would not be as effective in North Carolina or at NCCU.

“We’re an SAT state. However, I hope that all UNC schools consider a variety of factors when considering applicants,” she said.

Foy said that the SAT I exam will not be removed from admission procedures at NCCU. However, the admissions office will continue to work hard to give every applicant a fair chance, she said.

“Our office looks for ways to admit students, not deny them,” she said.