Potomac Education Center, Inc.

10/29/2025

Test-optional admissions do a disservice to US students
Test scores are a much better predictor of academic progress than school grades – and students need a realistic assessment, says David Blobaum

Published on October 29, 2025
Last updated October 29, 2025
David Blobaum

Test scores are a much better predictor of academic progress than school grades – and students need a realistic assessment, says David Blobaum

10/24/2025

In the Age of ai, SAT prep may be the best bet for students

As colleges wrestle with discerning authenticity, the SAT (or ACT) offers a time-tested benchmark. It is one of the few components of an application that is harder to outsource, more difficult to fake, and relatively comparable across applicants.

10/24/2025

Elite Colleges Are Requiring the SAT and ACT Again – And That’s a Good Thing
Standardized tests are the best and most objective predictor of student success. Bringing them back helps high-achieving, low-income students.
By Shaan Patel | Contributor
Oct. 22, 2025

A 2025 study by researchers at Dartmouth College found that SAT or ACT scores predicted first-year college grade-point averages across income and other demographic factors, whereas high school GPAs and class ranks did not. The study concluded that far from helping elite schools’ recruit promising students from disadvantaged backgrounds, eliminating testing requirements had hindered their ability to identify high-achieving, low-income students.

08/28/2025

Standardized test score is the single best predictor of college performance for any given student. Moreover, research shows that test-optional admissions policies often reduce, rather than increase, socioeconomic diversity. Standardized tests are more objective and comparable, providing a common metric across states, schools and curricula. Tests also help identify high-achieving, low-income students from under-resourced schools who might otherwise be overlooked.

President Trump signed a memorandum requiring increased transparency in higher education admissions, which can only be achieved by reinstating standardized testing requirements and prioritizing mer…

08/07/2025

The SAT Still Measures What Matters

While grades alone do a decent job of providing colleges a picture of a student’s academic foundation and readiness for higher education, the sheer number and variety of American high schools—alongside growing evidence of high-school grade inflation—means the SAT plays an especially crucial role.

The SAT has been called many things. Too consequential. Too stressful. Too long. But in its 100-year history, no one ever called it easy. But lately, a claim that the…

05/29/2025

Take a Digital SAT or Enhanced ACT Mock Test at
Wootton HS June 10 & 11
Churchill HS June 11 & 12

Dear Parents,

Your student is invited to attend Potomac Education Center’s Annual Which Test is Better Workshop:
a Mock Digital SAT and/or Mock Enhanced ACT. These full-length practice tests are highly effective in determining which exam better highlights your student's strengths and challenges under real testing conditions.

The tests will be administered after school.
If these dates aren’t convenient, please contact us to arrange an alternative testing opportunity.

Registration is limited!
Please message or email me ([email protected]) for details.

04/26/2025

Standardized Tests Are Back at Top Universities

“Students who applied without scores were more likely to earn poor grades, switch out of challenging majors like engineering, and even leave college before completing a degree.”

More top colleges are requiring SAT or ACT scores again. Here’s why they’re changing their admissions policies.

04/02/2025

Standardized Tests Let Us Know If Our Kids Are Learning

‘But there is evidence that without standardized testing, parents have little awareness of their children’s deficits, in part because of grade inflation — over the past few decades, test scores have gone down while grades have gone up. This issue, which predated the pandemic, is known as “the honesty gap.”’

Trump wants to give power back to the states. Some states are lowering standards.

01/13/2025

“Understanding why standardized testing is important means seeing how it measures readiness and pinpoints areas for improvement. After all, academic skills do not exist in a vacuum. They represent a student’s ability to succeed in the classroom and the workforce as a critical thinker and an effective communicator worldwide.”

Read how standardized tests benefit society by measuring essential skills, fostering college readiness, and promoting educational growth.

10/28/2024

Your A student is average — don’t blame the SAT and ACT
BY DAVID BLOBAUM, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 10/26/24

The better students and parents understand high school grades and standardized tests, the better they can position themselves for academic success.

10/11/2024

The National Test Prep Association’s David Blobaum explains the importance of standardized tests in college admissions

When even test-blind colleges want to see standardized test scores, you get a sense of how badly colleges want these scores. Tune in to find out just how muc...

09/24/2024

Great ACT scores from our students today! 🎉🎉