SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2677

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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SENATE, April 1, 2024.

The committee on Higher Education, to whom was referred the petitions (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 827) of Adam Gomez and Adam Scanlon for legislation relative to admissions requirements to institutions of higher education; (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 834) of Jason M. Lewis for legislation to increase access to higher education for disadvantaged students; and (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1287) of Adam Scanlon and Adam Gomez relative to admissions requirements to public institutions of higher education, report the accompanying bill (Senate, No. 2677).

For the committee,

Joanne M. Comerford

        FILED ON: 2/7/2024

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2677

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

_______________

An Act relative to admissions requirements to institutions of higher education..

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1: The department of higher education shall review the practice of requiring applicants to take a standardized college entrance aptitude test to gain admittance to an undergraduate degree program at a public institution of higher education in the commonwealth.

The review shall include an analysis of the number of public institutions of higher education in Massachusetts and in other states that require a standardized college entrance aptitude test, that make the test optional, or that do not permit the use of the tests and recent trends in this area; the number of states that do not require or do not permit the use of such tests by law or regulation and their experience; the impact on student success and achievement of not requiring or not permitting the use of such tests; the extent to which the SAT and ACT tests accurately and reliably measure skills and knowledge that indicate a student’s achievements, abilities and college readiness; evidence of bias in the tests; and the impact of standardized admission tests on diversity among students, including diversity among racial and ethnic groups, income and wealth resources, and among immigrant and first-generation students, and other topics as determined by the department.

In preparing the review, the department shall consult with people concerned with or with expertise regarding standardized admission tests, including leaders of secondary and public higher education institutions, students of public higher education institutions, people with academic expertise in admission criteria and standardized testing, organizations concerned about standardized admissions testing; organizations representing people of color, immigrants, and low-income people, and others as determined by the department.

The review shall be published on the website of the department and submitted to the chairs of the joint committee on higher education, the joint committee on education, and the joint committee on racial equity, civil rights, and inclusion no later than 1 year after the effective date of this act.