Idaho Board of Ed drops college entrance exam requirement

MOSCOW — The Idaho State Board of Education says higher education institutions no longer have to require entrance exams for admissions.

The board formally approved the change during a meeting Wednesday, the Moscow-Pullman Daily News reported. TJ Bliss, the board's chief academic officer, said the plan was developed in collaboration with state universities and their presidents. State universities and colleges can still require entrance exams if they choose, but the statewide requirement is gone.

“There's a growing body of research suggesting that college entrance exam scores don't predict success and that (grade-point average) and other factors are more important, and our institutions have recognized that,” he said. “There's a national movement away from college entrance exams, so another compelling argument is competition.”

Idaho Superintendent of Public Schools Sherri Ybarra said high school students are still required to take some form of college entrance exam before they can graduate. But board member Debbie Critchfield noted the change would remove a barrier for some would-be college students.

“We want to remove barriers but we also believe in standards,” Critchfield said. “We want to make sure that our students don’t remove themselves from going to college because of a policy that doesn’t fit right this minute.”