I thought about kicking this one off with a video of Queen's classic, "Another One Bites the Dust."
You know — just to twist the knife a bit in the dying husk of DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion), the left's miserably and morally failed attempt to put its thumb on the scale in favor BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), and various other so-called "underrepresented" segments of society.
But, hey — wink-wink — why rub it in?
Anyway, in the latest high-profile example that DEI is well on its way to the dustbin of history, Princeton University announced this week that it will reinstate its standardized testing requirement for undergraduate admissions starting with the 2027–28 cycle. Beginning with applicants for fall 2028, both first-year and transfer students must submit SAT or ACT scores.
As author and political commentator Jonathan Turley put it, the Ivy League university's announcement is "only the latest reversal for an ill-conceived and poorly supported movement to achieve greater equity and diversity by eliminating standardized testing in higher education.
Bingo.
The Princeton announcement was preceded by a typical process that transpires within bubble-dwelling, no-longer-hallowed halls of academia (emphasis, mine):
The decision to resume testing requirements follows a review of five years of data from the test-optional period, which found that academic performance at Princeton was stronger for students who chose to submit test scores than for students who did not. The review concluded that standardized testing is among the tools that can be helpful in indicating potential for academic success at Princeton.
Who knew?
I mean, why would applicants who choose to submit proof of academic excellence, or close, perform better academically than those who submit applications under a "no minimum requirement" system of admission?
I'm being sarcastic, of course — yet it took five years for these highly-educated geniuses to figure out the obvious. Or, did it? Is it possible that Princeton only wanted to appear to be conducting an intensive five-year study so the rabid left wouldn't lose their minds when standardized testing returns, in an effort to ward off future lawsuits from students unhappy about being denied admission in favor of less academically-qualified applicants?
Then this, in the announcement — read carefully:
Princeton said that standardized testing will remain only one element in its “comprehensive and holistic application review,” adding that there “are no minimum test score requirements for admission.”
It will also make an exception for active military personnel “because lack of regular access to testing facilities and other logistical constraints associated with their service may prevent them from testing at times aligned with Princeton’s application deadline.
I know of no other way to read the above university-speak nonsense than to assume Princeton wants to have it both ways: reinstate standardized tests, yet also say there will continue to be "no minimum test scores."
ALSO CHECK OUT: MSNBC Guest Claims DEI Creates 'Level Playing Field' — Why That Worn-Out Trope Is Patently False
Universities Using Crafty Trick to Defy Supreme Court Ruling Ending Race Criteria in Admissions
Here's more:
Just as with earlier studies, a new working paper published on the National Bureau of Economic Research website finds that standardized test scores are stronger predictors of college performance than high school GPA, even after controlling for race, gender, and socioeconomic status.
GPA scores are notoriously unreliable due to grade inflation and varying standards across different schools. In San Francisco, “grading for equity” is a goal in public schools.
The slipping standards recently became evident when Harvard had to create a course to teach basic high school math to its students.
Again, if we take these studies at face value, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that opponents of standardized testing are prioritizing personal or institutional agendas — many driven by politics — over the actual welfare of students.
In other words, the students can go hang; the real mission of our once-respected “institutions of higher learning” is to trot out the worn-out narrative of the left about racism, “underrepresented” groups, and, naturally, the omnipresent specter of “White supremacy.”
One word: nonsense.
The Bottom Line
The left is fond of pontificating about the "justice" of "leveling the playing field."
However, again, the rational and clear-eyed among us know exactly what’s going on: watered-down standards breed watered-down outcomes — the soft bigotry of low expectations. And that ugly truth applies to everyone, no matter their skin color, ethnicity, sexual identity, chosen pronouns, self-declared “identity,” or any other bit of ideological drivel the left continues to peddle.
Incidentally, Columbia remains the last Ivy League holdout in kicking mandatory standardized testing to the curb.
