"… Bates College in Maine was the first to make the SAT optional in 1991. Its 20-year study of admitted students revealed that those who submitted tests did not show any better academic performance or graduation rates than those who didn’t.
The SAT was meant to help level the academic playing field, but Fair Test’s Schaeffer says that was before admissions officers had detailed information about the rigor of particular high schools to compare students.
‘That was back…before multiple studies proved that high school grades were a better predictor of undergraduate success than any test, before research showed a very strong correlation between test results and family income, and before the explosion of high-priced test-prep courses gave well-to-do families an opportunity to purchase the equivalent of steroids to improve their teenagers’ scores,’ Schaeffer told NBC News.
Grades are a better predictor of success in college, he said." …