Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    College Advising
    Serving Higher Ed
    Chronicle Festival 2025
Sign In
Admissions

Facing Criticism, College Board Backs Away From ‘Adversity Score’

By Grace Elletson August 27, 2019
The College Board’s adversity score, intended to contextualize students’ performance on the SAT, drew complaints for oversimplifying their experience, among other concerns.
The College Board’s adversity score, intended to contextualize students’ performance on the SAT, drew complaints for oversimplifying their experience, among other concerns.Joe Raedle, Getty Images

The College Board is walking back the single, overarching “adversity score” that it had planned to attach to students’ SAT scores after it drew broad criticism.

The proposed score was part of an Environmental Context Dashboard, a program the organization had tested at 50 colleges over the last year in an effort to help admissions officers gain broader context about each applicant’s socioeconomic background when evaluating SAT scores. The adversity score did not factor in race.

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

The College Board’s adversity score, intended to contextualize students’ performance on the SAT, drew complaints for oversimplifying their experience, among other concerns.
The College Board’s adversity score, intended to contextualize students’ performance on the SAT, drew complaints for oversimplifying their experience, among other concerns.Joe Raedle, Getty Images

The College Board is walking back the single, overarching “adversity score” that it had planned to attach to students’ SAT scores after it drew broad criticism.

The proposed score was part of an Environmental Context Dashboard, a program the organization had tested at 50 colleges over the last year in an effort to help admissions officers gain broader context about each applicant’s socioeconomic background when evaluating SAT scores. The adversity score did not factor in race.

Rather, it grouped together data from the Census Bureau and public records about crime rates, median income, and parents’ education levels in each student’s environment. Those measures, combined with such other data as the academic rigor of a high school or receiving free or reduced-price lunches, were used to create a student’s overall adversity score.

In the new program, renamed Landscape, there’s no overall adversity score, but all the other contextualizing data points remain the same. The College Board is also offering new guidelines about how to use the program and details about its methodology.

In a news release announcing the changes, David Coleman, the College Board’s chief executive, said on Tuesday that they would make Landscape “better and more transparent.”

“Landscape provides admissions officers more consistent background information,” Coleman said, “so they can fairly consider every student, no matter where they live and learn.”

While some admissions officers involved in the pilot program said it had helped them diversify their enrollment, many others weren’t convinced of the program’s effectiveness. Some said the adversity score could oversimplify students’ experiences and cause them to face more bias.

Even with the removal of the overall adversity score, some remained skeptical. Robert A. Schaeffer, public-education director of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing (FairTest), endorsed the College Board’s decision to listen to the critiques of what he called a “simplistic score” but said it still fell short.

The revised program, he said, doesn’t do enough to help disadvantaged students make it into college. In order to diversify a student body, Schaeffer said, admissions offices should aggressively recruit in underserved areas and make more scholarship money available to applicants who need it most.

ADVERTISEMENT

The shift in the Landscape program “doesn’t eliminate any hurdles,” Schaeffer said. “In reality, it just provides a bit more information to put the hurdles in context.”

Grace Elletson is an editorial intern at The Chronicle. Follow her on Twitter @graceelletson, or email her at grace.elletson@chronicle.com.

A version of this article appeared in the September 6, 2019, issue.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Tags
Admissions & Enrollment Innovation & Transformation
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Related Content

Let’s Clarify a Few Things About the New ‘Adversity Score.’ (First, Stop Calling It That.)
Why Are SAT Takers Getting an ‘Adversity Score’? Here’s Some Context

More News

Vector illustration of large open scissors  with several workers in seats dangling by white lines
Iced Out
Duke Administrators Accused of Bypassing Shared-Governance Process in Offering Buyouts
Illustration showing money being funnelled into the top of a microscope.
'A New Era'
Higher-Ed Associations Pitch an Alternative to Trump’s Cap on Research Funding
Illustration showing classical columns of various heights, each turning into a stack of coins
Endowment funds
The Nation’s Wealthiest Small Colleges Just Won a Big Tax Exemption
WASHINGTON, DISTICT OF COLUMBIA, UNITED STATES - 2025/04/14: A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator holding a sign with Release Mahmud Khalil written on it, stands in front of the ICE building while joining in a protest. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally in front of the ICE building, demanding freedom for Mahmoud Khalil and all those targeted for speaking out against genocide in Palestine. Protesters demand an end to U.S. complicity and solidarity with the resistance in Gaza. (Photo by Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Campus Activism
An Anonymous Group’s List of Purported Critics of Israel Helped Steer a U.S. Crackdown on Student Activists

From The Review

John T. Scopes as he stood before the judges stand and was sentenced, July 2025.
The Review | Essay
100 Years Ago, the Scopes Monkey Trial Discovered Academic Freedom
By John K. Wilson
Vector illustration of a suited man with a pair of scissors for a tie and an American flag button on his lapel.
The Review | Opinion
A Damaging Endowment Tax Crosses the Finish Line
By Phillip Levine
University of Virginia President Jim Ryan keeps his emotions in check during a news conference, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022 in Charlottesville. Va. Authorities say three people have been killed and two others were wounded in a shooting at the University of Virginia and a student is in custody. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
The Review | Opinion
Jim Ryan’s Resignation Is a Warning
By Robert Zaretsky

Upcoming Events

07-31-Turbulent-Workday_assets v2_Plain.png
Keeping Your Institution Moving Forward in Turbulent Times
Ascendium_Housing_Plain.png
What It Really Takes to Serve Students’ Basic Needs: Housing
Lead With Insight
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin