University System of Georgia Admissions Issues

New Policy Requires Eight SAT II Tests

(last modified 09/29/01)

The BOR appears to be heading towards a change in policy that would come close to what the coalition described below had requested.

The Georgia Board of Regents for some time has been in the process of changing the admissions requirements for the University System of Georgia. The goal of the changes is to "raise the bar" for the University System, as part of a longer term mission to improve higher education in Georgia.

HEIR has analyzed the policy and prepared a report about it:
Analysis of Inequities in the Requirements for Admission to the University System of Georgia

To better understand this long term program, we have provided links to the Board of Regents web site.

On March 7, 1997, the Georgia Board of Regents published a policy memo directing the 32 units of the University System of Georgia to adopt new admissions standards for all applicants who do not have a diploma from an accredited or recognized high school. The memo specifically mentioned homeschoolers. The policy is represented by the Board as essential to insure compliance with the Board-mandated "college preparatory curriculum." There was no meaningful participation by homeschoolers in the policy making process. The policy had been under development for at least a year prior to its publication.

The policy sets, as a minimum requirement, that homeschoolers take a battery of SAT II tests, and achieve a "passing score". The passing score was not specified in the memo, since the Board had contracted with ETS to recommend a passing score that would be "equivalent" to the Board's requirement for public school students, i.e., a "C" average in the CPC. In order to establish the recommended passing scores, ETS planned to use the Angoff Method. The ETS report was submitted to the Board of Regents in early July (HEIR has obtained a copy) and provides both a description of the process used in the Angoff Method, and a set of scores. HEIR developed an analysis of the ETS recommendations, and published an opinion that may be of interest to homeschoolers. HEIR also developed an analysis showing how GA college bound seniors who took the SAT II tests last year would have fared under the new Regents policy for homeschoolers.

It is a matter of public record that the passing scores were not established when the policy itself was established. The Board considered the ETS recommendations and approved a set of passing scores that were roughly one standard error smaller (interest readers may want to look at HEIR's report on Dr. Fullerton's presentation to the Georgia House Education Committee on July 29).

Passing scores for the SAT II test were approved by the Board of Regents at their September 9 meeting. Prior to the Board meeting, HEIR sent a letter to Chancellor Portch, copied to each Regent, outlining homeschooler concerns with the new policy, and demonstrating that the proposed passing scores were unfair. On September 15, the passing scores were reported in the Atlanta Journal/Constitution in a "Q&A" column on education issues. Using the published passing scores, and the test results for GA college-bound seniors who actually took SAT II tests last year, it is obvious that the new requirements set a very high hurdle. The GA students who took SAT II tests last year were, on average, at the 83rd percentile or above on the SAT I test (SAT I composite score of 1223 or higher). These are very, very good students. Yet, according to our analysis, fewer than 40% of them would have met the Board of Regents requirements to be in the USG admissions pool. If they had been required to pass all six SAT II tests, fewer than 16% would have passed.

At the September 9 meeting of the Board of Regents, Representative Ron Crews (R 78) spoke to Chancellor Portch and told him of the distress the new admissions policy was causing within the homeschooling community. Chancellor Portch agreed to meet with a small delegation of homeschoolers to discuss the new policy. Representative Crews contacted HEIR and asked that we be involved in the meeting with Chancellor Portch, which took place on October 21. A meeting report summarizes the process and outcome of the meeting, in which HEIR gave the Chancellor a briefing paper that includes the HEIR impact assessment.

Homeschoolers need to appreciate that the Board of Regents is, in many ways, a "fourth branch of government" in Georgia. The Regents are appointed by the Governor, and the University System of Georgia receives a "lump sum" budget allocation from the General Assembly. However, neither the Governor nor the General Assembly has direct oversight of the Board of Regents. As communicated to HEIR by the permanent staff of the Regents, the Board does not hold public hearings, and it does not work with "special interest groups" such as homeschoolers. This should not deter homeschoolers, however, from communicating directly to the Chancellor or the Regents if they are concerned about this new policy. To facilitate such communication, HEIR has provided contact information for the Regents. Note that the Regents hold an appointment in a district (corresponds to US House district) or "at large".

HEIR Correspondence with Chancellor's Office Regarding Admissions

HEIR has more recently participated in a Coalition to bring relief from the new policy to both homeschoolers and students in non-accredited private schools.

Chancellor Responds to Coalition's Proposal

Coalition Considers Chancellor's Letter

Coalition's Response to the Chancellor's Counter-Proposal

Coalition's Open Letter to Georgia Parents

Chancellor Refuses Dialogue and Compromise - Keeps SAT II Policy

HEIR calls for supporters to tell Chancellor if they want a public hearing

By March 9, Millie Beverly, corresponding secretary for the Coalition for Equity in USG admissions, reported that the Chancellor had received letters containing 200 signatures calling for a public hearing to discuss the admissions policy for the 60,000 students who attend unaccredited highschools. Twenty-five is the minimum number of signatures needed to require the Chancellor to hold a public hearing.

Some time after it became known that Chancellor Portch planned to resign, the BOR appeared to be planning to adopt a change similar to what the coalition had recommended.

USG Admissions Policy Timeline

State's New Walk-on Tryout Policy - A Satire