The Standardized Test Industry Could Be on Short Time

"An American Bar Association panel that accredits law schools is considering whether to make standardized tests [such as the LSAT] optional for admission, a move that would follow a trend seen in undergraduate admissions offices and give schools more flexibility in how they select law students." - The Wall Street Journal, May 20, 2022

Today, the ABA will take up the issue if it should seek public comment on this initiative. Currently, as is well-known to those who have their hopes on being admitted to law school, the ABA mandates that those applying to law schools take a "valid and reliable exam." Over the past few years an option for that at some law schools has been the GRE. However, applicants had to assess if submitting the results of the LSAT would give them an edge with the law school admissions committee. 

One reason for the possible change is that it is contended that standardized tests are configured to align with the backgrounds of the privileged. Higher education is struggling to level the playing field.

As HuffPost documents, the standardized test industry is a big business. As for the LSAT, it is created and administered by the Law School Admission Council. That's only one moving part in the process. There is also the revenue generated by businesses and indivuals who provide coaching for how to improve a score on the test. 

That's just the LSAT. There are now also all those standardized tests required by jurisdictions. Among them is the ACT Writing Test. Along the way I had been trained to be a grader of those. That represented a nice piece of income.

Everything changes. Increasingly it's looking like that could include the once fast-growing standardized test business niche.

Connect with Editor-in-Chief Jane Genova at janegenova374@gmail.com. 

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