MARQUETTE — Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many colleges and universities have removed their standardized testing requirements for admissions.

That movement began because some applicants were unable to access testing sites for the ACT and SAT.

Those who could access the tests could use them as additional information on their application.

“With the pivot happening in March 2020, most students didn’t take the SAT in Michigan and even the year after that,” said Mia Murphy, the chief policy officer at the Michigan Association of State Universities.

“There were still so many students who pivoted to remote (learning) that the test-taking wasn’t very common,” she said.

Most public colleges and universities joined the Michigan Assured Admissions Pact, allowing guaranteed admissions if an applicant had a 3.0 or higher grade-point average.

“High school GPA is a pretty good indicator of academic success in college,” said Murphy.

Yet colleges and universities around Michigan still accept standardized test scores, as they help support an application or are used to award scholarships.

“Michigan Tech does not require first-year applicants to submit ACT or SAT scores, but standardized scores can be useful to our admissions team when reviewing applicants whose transcripts or GPA may be on the borderline of our admissions criteria,” said Kyle Rubin, associate vice president for enrollment management at MTU in Houghton.

At Northern Michigan University, standardized test scores are not required for admission. NMU’s admission policy is test-free, meaning that ACT and SAT scores are not considered when making admission decisions.

NMU will review high school grades, starting with the ninth-grade year. Research shows that GPA is a better indicator of success in college.

Most private institutions had already planned on moving past the standardized testing requirements, so COVID expedited the plan, said Robert LeFevre, president of Michigan Independent Colleges and Universities.

“It was a movement that started to get traction that went up exponentially.” said LeFevre. “None of our members that have moved away from it are looking to go back.”

Colby Cesaro, the organization’s vice president, noted that Kalamazoo College has not used standardized testing for two decades.

“They were one of the first institutions in the state to eliminate that requirement because they didn’t find that it was valuable,” Cesaro said.

Although a trend of resuming testing mandates has started nationally, no college or university in Michigan has reinstated the requirement.

A report last year by the National Center for Fair and Open Testing said more than 80% of colleges and universities across the country won’t require applicants to submit test scores for fall 2025.