SE Illinois News

Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Teutopolis) has come out against a new law that bans publicly funded Illinois universities from requiring standardized test scores on admissions applications.

An organization known as FairTest made a list of of more than 1,000 colleges and universities that have eliminated ACT or SAT score requirements. The top reason cited by schools for that is the belief that tests “favor students from privileged backgrounds.”

"I voted against this legislation because I think universities should have the right to set their own admission policies and standards" Niemerg told the SE Illinois News.

Niemerg went on to defend the validity of standardized testing.

"The intent of testing is to provide as objective measure as is possible for the academic qualifications of prospective students" Niemerg said. "Testing has in many cases helped a lot of people get access to scholarships and much-needed financial aid in order to go to college. Testing is an incentive for students to study and to succeed because doing well on the tests can result in scholarships and other opportunities to go to colleges these students could not otherwise afford."

Niemerg does not believe that standardized testing is causing the problems in Illinois schools.

"Those who think standardized testing is racist should join me in supporting policies to give parents more choices in their kids’ education," Niemerg said. "It is not testing that is failing students. It is failing schools that are failing students and the inability of parents to take their kids out of these schools. Getting rid of testing is not going to solve these structural problems."

Niemerg also believes the law sends a negative message.

"I think the biggest disadvantage of getting rid of testing is the message that merit does not matter," Niemerg said. "What incentive do students have now to apply themselves? We are sending a terrible message to our students with this new law."

The National Association for College Admission Counseling led a study and concluded that schools that don’t require standardized test scores are more diverse. A University of Illinois math professor authored an anthology for teachers in which she stated that math is racist, as it “itself operates as Whiteness.” According to new test data from the Illinois State Board of Education, the amount of Illinois students in 3rd-11th grade who meet grade-level standards went down by 18% in the last two years in math and by 17% in English.

Among Chicago Public School 11th graders, just 23% reached grade-level standards for reading and just 21% met grade-level standards for math.