UW-Madison to require writing test for admission

UW–Madison will require applicants for admission as freshmen to provide standardized writing test scores, beginning with the class applying to enter in 2006.

The change comes as both major college testing agencies plan to add writing components during the next few years. The College Board plans to add a mandatory writing segment to the SAT I in March 2005, and American College Testing Inc. (ACT) will add an optional writing test to the ACT Assessment in the 2004-2005 academic year.

Students applying for admission to UW–Madison are required to submit either SAT or ACT scores for consideration, but students taking the ACT for admission in 2006 will be required to submit the optional writing score as well.

“Writing is a critical skill,” says Admissions Director Rob Seltzer. “If students are required to have a writing assessment as part of the college application process, we believe they will be encouraged to improve their writing skills.

“Also, requiring a writing assessment will give us an additional factor to consider in our review of prospective students,” he adds. “Ultimately, we will be able to select better-qualified students.”

Seltzer says the first group of students required to submit the writing component will be those enrolling in ninth grade this fall, giving them several years to prepare for the new requirement. (Both tests will be available starting in the spring of their junior year.) The College Board is working with English teachers across the country to help them better prepare students for the exam segments.

The change was approved by the UW–Madison Faculty Senate on May 5. Numerous institutions across the country have also decided to require the ACT writing assessment, including the University of Michigan, Ohio State University, Penn State University, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of North Carolina.

Admission to UW–Madison is competitive and selective, Seltzer says. Evaluation of applicants will continue to be based on a variety of factors, including grade-point average, class rank, course preparation, test scores and personal characteristics, among others.

According to Seltzer, UW–Madison’s holistic approach to reviewing every application will readily accommodate the new writing scores. Writing scores will become one of the factors considered, but will not supercede or replace any of the other factors, he says.

For more information about admission to UW–Madison, visit http://www.admissions.wisc.edu/ or call (608) 262-3961.