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Applicants strategically withheld low SAT scores and disclosed high scores, often conditioning disclosure on other academic characteristics, colleges’ selectivity, testing-policy statements, and local peers’ Covid-related test access constraints. Differences in disclosure strategies by race and socioeconomic status are modest. After enrollment, score-withholders earned lower first-year grades and completed fewer credit hours.",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/strategic-disclosure-of-test-scores-evidence-from-us-college-admissions/266325/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/strategic-disclosure-of-test-scores-evidence-from-us-college-admissions/266325.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Emma Mercer","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-22","2026-09-14",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",13,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What admission setting does the paper analyze?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"The paper studies fall 2021 entry to 50 selective US colleges under Covid-era test-optional policies, where applicants could submit SAT scores without penalty for not submitting.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"How do applicants choose whether to disclose SAT scores?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"Applicants with low SAT scores are less likely to disclose, while applicants with high scores are more likely to disclose, reflecting strategic decisions linked to likely institutional admissions inferences.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"What outcomes differ for applicants who withheld versus disclosed scores?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"After enrolling, individuals who withheld scores received lower first-year college grades and completed fewer credit hours than those who disclosed scores.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},266325,1789405995,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":140,"language":141,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":142,"faqs":143,"seo_title":144,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":130,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},962084925502,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","Strategic Disclosure of Test Scores:  \nEvidence from US College Admissions*  \nBrian McManus  \nUniversity of North Carolina – Chapel Hill  \nJessica Howell  \nCollege Board  \nMichael Hurwitz  \nCollege Board  \nMay 2024  \nAbstract: We analyze individual applicants’ standardized test scores and disclosure behavior to 50 selective US colleges for entry in fall 2021, when Covid-19 prompted widespread adoption of test-optional admissions policies. Applicants withheld low scores and disclosed high scores, including seeking admissions advantages by conditioning their disclosure choices on their other academic characteristics, colleges’ selectivity and testing policy statements, and the Covid-related test access challenges of the applicants’ local peers. We find only modest differences in test disclosure strategies by applicants’ race and socioeconomic characteristics. After enrolling, individuals who withheld scores received lower first-year college grades and completed fewer credit hours.  \nJEL Codes: D82, I23  \n* We thank Parker Goyer, Sam Imlay, Meagan Madden, and Katie Widdoss for assistance in data collection and preparation. We received helpful feedback from Peter Arcidiacono, Gary Biglaiser, Daniel Chaves, Fei Li, Peter Norman, Collin Raymond, Mike Waldman, Paige Weber, Jon Williams, and members of the Admissions Research Consortium’s Research Advisory Committee. Corresponding author: Brian McManus ([mcmanusb@unc.edu](mcmanusb@unc.edu)), Department of Economics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill NC 27599. Jessica Howell ([j](jhowell@collegeboard.org)[howell@collegeboard.org](jhowell@collegeboard.org)) and Michael Hurwitz ([mhurwitz@collegeboard.org](mhurwitz@collegeboard.org)): College Board, 1919 M St NW \\#300, Washington DC 20036.  \n1. Introduction  \nUS colleges and universities are considering significant changes to the role of standardized tests in their admissions policies and practices. Prior to the 2020-21 academic year, most selective postsecondary institutions required standardized tests for applicants, but reduced testing opportunities due to Covid-19 prompted widespread adoption of test-optional policies, with many institutions continuing these policies after pandemic-related testing barriers receded. Test-optional admissions policies, which invite applicants to submit scores if they desire and suggest no penalty for absent scores, are an active area of investigation in education policy and among postsecondary institutions considering retaining these policies permanently.1 The policies’ impacts on competitive admissions and higher education access will depend on how applicants and institutions regard these policies as strategic opportunities. Several aspects of the college admissions setting raise novel questions about score disclosure behavior and its consequences: Do college applicants, who are generally minors and one-time participants in this disclosure setting, act strategically in their choices of whether to disclose test scores? Do applicants believe that colleges can commit to policies in which the institutions do not make negative inferences about applicants who do not submit scores? Do test-optional policies have significant impacts on information available to institutions?  \nWe answer these questions with novel evidence on college applicants’ actions and outcomes. We analyze the test score disclosure choices of individuals who applied to enter US colleges and universities in fall 2021. These applicants, who were completing their applications during the 2020-2021 school year, encountered test-optional policies that were generally not present for earlier cohorts. Our data come from College Board, which administers the SAT (the leading standardized test for US college admissions), and 50 selective US colleges and universities which received over a million applications in fall 2020. The data’s key feature is that we observe an applicant’s SAT score regardless of whether he or she chooses to disclose it on","cbCaiefda00pnhSP","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiefda00pnhSP","pdf",2119386,62,"English","# Introduction\n## Strategic test score disclosure under test-optional policies\n## Data sources and identification strategy\n## Key findings and implications","[{\"question\":\"What admission setting does the paper analyze?\",\"answer\":\"The paper studies fall 2021 entry to 50 selective US colleges under Covid-era test-optional policies, where applicants could submit SAT scores without penalty for not submitting.\"},{\"question\":\"How do applicants choose whether to disclose SAT scores?\",\"answer\":\"Applicants with low SAT scores are less likely to disclose, while applicants with high scores are more likely to disclose, reflecting strategic decisions linked to likely institutional admissions inferences.\"},{\"question\":\"What outcomes differ for applicants who withheld versus disclosed scores?\",\"answer\":\"After enrolling, individuals who withheld scores received lower first-year college grades and completed fewer credit hours than those who disclosed scores.\"}]","Strategic Disclosure of Test Scores - Evidence from US College Admissions | PDF",156]