At no other time in American history has the need for post-secondary educational attainment been so pervasively necessary. Since 2007, three in every four jobs created has required a bachelor's degree or higher. Such a prerequisite to fiscal viability occurs parallel with rising costs of college attendance, a nebulous financial aid process,…

For the second time in three years, the Supreme Court is reviewing the constitutionality of a race-conscious admissions policy at the University of Texas, Austin. While the case, "Fisher v. University of Texas," raises questions specific to UT Austin, the Court's second review could change the ways higher education institutions across…

In Japan, neoliberal discourses rationalize English language proficiency as a pathway to meritocratic reward and success in the global knowledge economy. With this ideology in mind, this review engages the market orientation of English domestically and the causative implications of class-distinguished capital. Specifically, Bourdieu's theory of…

Access to higher education is essential to the achievement of social justice and economic development of a society. This study examines differences in the status quo of the equity of college admission examinations between China and the US by comparing news reports in the two countries. Interesting differences were revealed between the two media.…

This article focuses on Chinese state conceptualisations of the educated person, seen to be necessary for the continued national progress. Government campaigns provide clear narratives about the quality citizens that will ensure this will happen. Such narratives paradoxically also target rural people, migrant workers and their offspring for…

This is the first study that examines the comparative validity of the Chinese National College Entrance Exam (known as Gaokao) to a Western end-of-secondary-school performance measure, Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR), as admission criteria to an Australian undergraduate degree programme. The study offers a strong warning about using just…

This is the first empirical study to examine the comparative predictive power of Chinese national college English language program (CEP), a Western university's English for academic purpose (EAP) language program, a standardised English language proficiency (SELP) test, and business diploma for the academic performance of Chinese students in…

The Duolingo English Test (DET) is a computer adaptive test of English proficiency that is increasingly used for English-medium university admissions purposes. During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, test centers were shut down in many countries, and major tests including the TOEFL iBT and IELTS could not be administered. The DET is an "at…

This update to "SAT Wars" provides new evidence in the case against standardized college entry tests, including the experiences of test-optional colleges. "The Scandal of Standardized Tests" sheds significant light on key problems such as: (1) Are the tests stronger proxies for race and family income today than they were 20…

This article explores how a disability justice framework would provide greater access to law school and therefore the legal profession for disabled students of color; specifically, disabled Black, Indigenous, and Latinx students. Using DisCrit principles formulated by Subini Annamma, David Connor, and Beth Ferri (2013), this article provides…

College-bound recipients of DACA--a 2012 US administrative policy officially titled Consideration for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals--face a series of administrative and financial barriers in pursuing postsecondary education. These barriers often include a complicated process for in-state tuition consideration, as well as exclusion from…

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is the standard in the college admissions process, leading to the inclusion of preparation classes in Intensive English Program (IEP) curricula. But does preparing for the TOEFL in isolation yield optimal results for IEP college hopefuls? In this article, we will share information about the…

To complement the existing literature on expanding access to high-quality college education, we investigate the understudied topic of university outreach. Using a field experiment at West Point, we estimate the effectiveness of four university admissions outreach efforts (Admissions Office phone call, application encouragement from a role model,…

As a result of changing national values and unrest, demographic and population shifts, and ever-changing admissions practices and policies, implementing a diversity and cultural-competency agenda within university settings has become a priority across the UK, Europe, and US. Furthermore, public institutions across the UK, EU, and US are now more…

The discussion takes up the common theme across the seven contributions of this special issue, namely the CEFR's suitability as a basis for setting university entrance standards. The special issue allows insights into this theme from a multitude of contexts, languages and perspectives, including data from stakeholders, students, tests and their…