Updated: February 2026
If you're a parent trying to figure out whether your student needs to take the SAT or ACT, you've probably noticed that the answer keeps changing. Schools that dropped testing during COVID are bringing it back. Schools that brought it back are watching to see if others follow. And a few have decided they're done with standardized tests entirely.
It's confusing. But there's actually a clear pattern underneath all the noise, and understanding it can help your family plan ahead rather than react.
The short version: COVID forced colleges to go test-optional in 2020. Most assumed it was temporary. Then something interesting happened. Schools started studying what test-optional admissions actually looked like in practice, and they came to different conclusions.
MIT was the first to reinstate, back in 2022. Their research was straightforward: test scores were the single best predictor of academic success at MIT, and dropping them was actually hurting students from under-resourced backgrounds who had strong scores but weaker extracurriculars.
Dartmouth's economics faculty published similar findings in 2024. Brown, Cornell, Penn, Harvard, and Stanford followed. Each cited some version of the same conclusion: scores, used properly, add predictive value and can support equity goals rather than undermine them.
On the other side, the University of California system analyzed its own data and reached the opposite conclusion: that test scores didn't add meaningful predictive value beyond GPA for their population. The entire UC system went test-free permanently.
Neither side is wrong. They're answering different questions for different student populations at different types of institutions.
Here's what matters for families planning ahead:
The trend at selective privates is clearly toward reinstatement. The majority of the Ivy League now requires scores. Stanford requires scores. MIT requires scores. Princeton has announced reinstatement for 2028. When these schools move, mid-tier selective schools often follow within a cycle or two.
Large public universities are holding steady. Most flagship publics remain test-optional, and the UC/Cal State systems are firmly test-free. This is unlikely to change soon.
Test-optional is becoming the new middle ground. Schools like UChicago, NYU, USC, and Boston University have maintained test-optional policies through multiple cycles. For these schools, "optional" is looking less like a temporary COVID measure and more like a permanent policy choice.
The landscape will likely shift again before your student applies. Here's how to plan for that:
Assume you'll need scores. Even if every school on your current list is test-optional today, that could change. Preparing for the SAT or ACT gives your student options regardless of what policies look like in 12 months.
Build your list first, then map testing policies. Don't let testing policy drive your college search. Find the right schools, then determine what each one requires. Your testing strategy follows your list.
Watch for announcements in spring. Policy changes typically get announced between February and April for the following admissions cycle. Spring of junior year is when you should re-check every school on your list.
Plan for flexibility. The students who are best positioned are the ones who have scores ready to submit where it helps and can withhold where it doesn't. That flexibility is valuable.
This isn't just about tests. The broader question is what colleges value and how they measure it. The reinstatement trend suggests that most selective institutions still believe standardized tests, for all their flaws, provide information that grades and activities alone don't capture.
For families, the practical takeaway is this: strong test scores remain one of the few things in the admissions process that you can directly control and improve. In a landscape full of uncertainty, that's worth something.
A Revolution Prep advisor can help you build a testing strategy that accounts for where policies are today and where they're likely headed. We track every change so you don't have to.
Want to get ahead of the next shift? Schedule a strategy session with a Revolution Prep advisor.
Testing policies change frequently. This guide reflects the landscape as of February 2026. For the most current information on any specific institution, verify with their admissions office or consult a Revolution Prep advisor.