How Test-Optional Admissions Policies Evolved After the End of Affirmative Action
By Muntasir • Published Sep 18, 2026 • Updated Sep 20, 2026 • US College Admissions
Most US colleges stayed test optional after the Supreme Court ended race-conscious admissions in 2023, but a group of highly selective schools brought testing requirements back, arguing scores help them find strong applicants they might otherwise miss.
📩 More than 2,085 four-year colleges are test optional or test free for fall 2026 applicants.
The Supreme Court ended race-conscious admissions on June 29, 2023, in Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard.
🎓 Several highly selective private universities reinstated SAT or ACT requirements in the admission cycles that followed.
These schools argue test scores help identify strong low-income and first-generation applicants who might get overlooked without them.
Check each college's current testing policy directly, since it differs by school and by year.
Where Test-Optional Policy Stands Now
More than 2,085 bachelor's degree granting institutions do not require ACT or SAT scores from most fall 2026 applicants, including over 2,010 test-optional schools and more than 75 fully test-free schools, according to FairTest . Most colleges expanded test-optional policy during the pandemic and kept it in place since, so the large majority of applicants still choose whether to submit a score at most schools.
The Supreme Court Ruling
The Supreme Court ruled on June 29, 2023, in Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard that race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina violated the law, ending the use of race as a factor in undergraduate admissions decisions, according to the New York Times . Colleges could no longer weigh an applicant's race directly, which pushed some admissions offices to look for other ways to identify strong candidates from underrepresented backgrounds.
Why Some Selective Schools Brought Testing Back
A group of highly selective private universities reinstated SAT or ACT requirements in the admission cycles that followed the ruling, after several years of test-optional policy. These schools point to research showing standardized test scores, read in the context of a student's high school, help identify strong applicants from lower-income backgrounds and under-resourced high schools who might otherwise blend into a large applicant pool without a score attached to their file.
The argument runs against the intuition that dropping a test requirement helps access. Without a race-conscious admissions process, some admissions offices argue an objective data point like a test score, alongside grades and school context, keeps them from underestimating a strong student whose school does not offer the same essay coaching or extracurricular access as a wealthier applicant.
Why Most Schools Did Not Follow
The reinstatement trend concentrated among a small number of highly selective private schools with large applicant pools and the staff capacity to read test scores in context alongside every other application detail. Most public universities and less selective private schools kept test-optional or test-free policy in place, since the same access argument for reinstating testing cuts the other way for schools serving more low-income applicants who lack access to test prep or repeat testing.
What This Means for Your Application
Check each target school's current testing policy directly on its admissions site rather than assuming last year's policy still applies, since schools continue to update requirements year to year.
If a school requires scores, submitting is not optional there regardless of your view on testing generally.
If a school stays test optional, a strong score still helps your application, while a weak one is safe to leave out.
At test-free schools, do not send a score at all, since some test-free policies mean scores are not considered even if submitted.
A Policy Still in Motion
Testing policy at individual schools shifts admission cycle to admission cycle. Confirm policy directly with each school before you finalize your application list, especially for any school you apply to more than a year after reading this.