A striking paradox has emerged within Delaware’s education system, where a policy designed to measure student achievement and ensure accountability is now being blamed for damaging the state’s reputation and disadvantaging its graduates. For the past decade, Delaware has required nearly every public school 11th grader to take the SAT, a practice that has consistently placed the state near the bottom of national rankings. This has sparked a robust, bipartisan movement to dismantle the mandate, with lawmakers, educators, and advocates arguing that the universal testing requirement creates a fundamentally flawed and misleading picture of educational quality. The core of the debate centers on whether the SAT, a test traditionally designed for college admissions, is an appropriate or fair tool to evaluate an entire generation of students with increasingly diverse aspirations beyond a four-year university. As this coalition gains momentum, Delaware finds itself at a crossroads, forced to reconsider how it measures success and whether its current approach does more harm than good.
A Flawed Benchmark
A central pillar of the argument against the SAT mandate is the statistical distortion it creates in national comparisons. Because Delaware tests nearly 94% of its 11th-grade students to fulfill a federal requirement, its overall average scores are placed in direct comparison with states that test only a small, self-selected fraction of their top-performing, college-bound students. This creates a stark and misleading contrast. For example, states like Kansas and Wyoming, which have ranked highest in the nation, tested only 2% and 1% of their students, respectively. Experts argue that comparing Delaware’s comprehensive testing pool against these highly curated groups is statistically invalid. The resulting low rankings cast Delaware’s education system in a devastatingly negative light, fostering a perception of failure that stakeholders insist is an illusion created by data, not an accurate reflection of the state’s schools or the capabilities of its students. This fundamental mismatch in participation rates makes any direct comparison of average scores inherently unfair and undermines the very purpose of standardized assessment.
The integrity of the data is further compromised by the widespread disengagement among students for whom the SAT holds no relevance. Many juniors who plan to enter the workforce, attend a trade school, or join the military after graduation see no personal stake in the outcome of a college admissions test. Republican Senator Eric Buckson, a former educator, has provided firsthand accounts of proctoring the exam and witnessing students who, knowing the score will not affect their graduation or career path, put forth minimal effort. Some simply sign their names and randomly fill in answers. This behavior injects a significant number of artificially low scores into the state’s data set, dragging down the overall average and corrupting the results. Consequently, the SAT fails as an effective instrument for measuring actual student comprehension or evaluating school performance across the entire cohort. It becomes a reflection of student motivation as much as academic knowledge, making it a poor tool for high-stakes accountability.
The Ripple Effect of an Outdated Mandate
The movement to scrap the mandate is also propelled by the SAT’s diminishing role in the broader landscape of higher education. A significant and growing number of colleges and universities across the nation, including the state’s flagship University of Delaware, have transitioned to test-optional admissions policies. This national trend fundamentally questions the utility of a universal, high-stakes assessment designed primarily for college entry. Lawmakers and educators argue that mandating such a test for a diverse student population—many of whom have well-defined plans that do not include a traditional four-year degree—is an anachronistic and ill-suited approach. For students in vocational-technical programs or those preparing to join family businesses, the requirement feels disconnected from their educational journey and future needs, raising questions about whether the state is investing its resources in an assessment that aligns with the modern realities of its student body.
The negative consequences stemming from the state’s low SAT rankings extend beyond mere perception, causing tangible harm to both students and the state’s economic reputation. Lisa Lawson, Superintendent of the Brandywine School District, has been explicit in her assessment, stating, “It’s harming us.” She and other educational leaders argue that the perception created by the skewed data can lead prospective employers to make negative assumptions about the quality and capability of graduates from Delaware high schools. This could place local students at a distinct disadvantage in the competitive job market, particularly when compared to their peers from neighboring states with ostensibly higher, albeit statistically unrepresentative, test scores. The mandate, originally intended as a measure of accountability, is now viewed as a policy that inadvertently penalizes the very students it is meant to serve by devaluing their academic credentials in the eyes of the outside world and potentially limiting their future opportunities.
Forging a New Path Forward
In response to these mounting concerns, a unified and bipartisan effort to reform the state’s assessment policy emerged. The initiative was co-led by Democratic Representative Kim Williams, Chair of the House Education Committee, and Republican Senator Eric Buckson, who brought a unique perspective as a former educator. They emphasized that their goal was not to eliminate the SAT as an option for students but to uncouple it from the state’s official 11th-grade testing requirement. Their proposal involved continuing to provide the test at state expense, ensuring it remained a “useful option” for those who saw value in it for their college applications, while removing the compulsion for those on different paths. This legislative push found fertile ground, as it was supported by a 2023 review from the state’s Department of Education, which had already concluded that the “SAT is not the best indicator of high school achievement for all students.” With the state’s new Education Secretary, Cindy Marten, expressing a commitment to “modernize how we measure student learning,” the stage was set for a significant policy shift.
The consensus for change had solidified, making the path forward a matter of legislative action and thoughtful implementation. The first necessary step involved passing new legislation to officially remove the mandatory SAT requirement for all 11th graders. The more complex challenge that followed was the identification or development of a new assessment system for English and math that would both comply with federal law and better serve the needs of Delaware’s students. Several more modern alternatives were discussed, including “thru-year assessments” designed to measure academic growth over time rather than performance on a single day. Another option considered was the use of “project-based or performance assessments,” which could offer a more authentic evaluation of a student’s skills and knowledge in a real-world context. The ultimate goal, as articulated by the diverse coalition of stakeholders, was to implement a system that provided an “accurate and authentic and meaningful indicator of the quality of the graduate and the education system,” and one that re-engaged students by being directly relevant to their diverse futures.
