The educational establishment rarely reverses itself when it makes a mistake in the name of combating inequality. So the College Board deserves credit for its decision, announced Tuesday, to scrap plans for an “adversity score” to accompany students’ SAT results. The metric would have increased cynicism about the inscrutable college-admissions game.
The SAT unveiled the adversity score in May as it faced a crisis of legitimacy. Pundits have increasingly attacked the test as a measure of privilege rather than merit, and a growing number of schools have gone “test-optional.” Never mind that privileged students have as much of an advantage on grades and extracurricular activities as they do on tests.