Sixty law school deans have criticized the American Bar Association’s proposal to make admissions tests optional on the grounds it will hurt diversity. In May, an ABA council drafted a proposed revision to eliminate a test requirement and opened it up for commentary.
The 60 deans responded to that request for comments with a letter that says optional entrance exams would cause schools to rely more on GPA and other criteria, which could be “detrimental” to diversity among law students and the legal profession. It also argues that a greater reliance on these factors increases the possibility of more bias in the acceptance process.
“Without the LSAT as a factor, law schools may be less willing to take a chance on students who do not perform well on GPA or other metrics because they worked to put themselves through school, had to care for family, or for other reasons, but would enhance the diversity of our institutions and ultimately the profession,” the letter states. “Students who struggle early in college, which sometimes happens with first-generation college students, may have lower initial grades and thus overall lower grade point averages. Test scores may help these students, both in determining which schools they should consider and in gaining admission.”
The LSAT, an entrance exam designed to predict first-year grades, has been administered by the Law School Admissions Council for more than 50 years. The council plays an integral role in law school admissions and has expressed caution about a change.
“Such tests are tools and, in the case of the LSAT, one that can help predict whether students are capable of succeeding in law school and bringing in a class that is diverse in multiple dimensions, including race and socioeconomic status,” the letter states.
Many of the comments submitted to the ABA council expressed the need for more research before adopting the change.
Another letter, written by Olympia Durhart and Allyson Gold on behalf of The Society of American Law Teachers, urges that the council collect and review data regarding the impact the change will have on minoritized communities. They also recommend that law schools should be encouraged to “act as laboratories for admissions strategy experimentation to attack the larger structural barriers to the profession.”
“A more measured interim approach can help ensure that the collateral consequences of a test-optional standard do not harm the very people they intend to help,” read the letter from the society.
More than 100 comments were submitted, 51 in favor of the approval and 49 opposed. Like the deans’ letter, several of these comments had multiple signatures.
Sept. 1 was the deadline for comments, now the council is set to decide if it wants to approve or revise the proposed changes. Other comments submitted about the changes can be found here.
