A growing number of U.S. colleges and universities are abandoning ACT and SAT scores as part of their admissions process, now including the University of Kansas. 

Northern Illinois University, Loyola University in New Orleans, the University of New England and Washington State University are just some of the schools out of a total of 51 schools that have taken the ACT and SAT out of their admissions process. 

Because taking the ACT and/or SAT may be difficult at this time, KU has gone test-optional for both admissions and scholarship for the upcoming semester and it is said that Kansas State University will also go test-optional in the coming years.

“This decision follows the step the school took this year to de-emphasize the weight of the standardized score in the admissions process,” the University of Kansas Admissions site said.“KU is prioritizing materials that are already in the student record and that often prove to be stronger predictors of success such as academic excellence, motivation, and intellectual curiosity.”

Some education experts say the ACT and SAT are a poor predictor of whether a student will succeed in college.

The goal of going test-optional, for many of its advocates, is to increase diversity; low-income students typically have lower scores than their more affluent peers, putting them at a disadvantage in admission. This is because families with more money usually live in wealthier school districts with more resources and can afford tutors to help with test preparation and other educational assistance.