The following is a recommendation from the Board of Directors of the Cheshire College Preparatory Academy We recommend that Cheshire College Preparatory Academy dispense with the use of standardized tests as an entrance requirement Cheshire has been an el

The Board of Directors of the Cheshire College Preparatory Academy claims that by dispensing the use of standardized tests as an entrance requirement, Cheshire College Preparatory Academy will see an increase in enrollment. While the board of directors provided their reasoning, there are still many factors outside of standardized testing that may cause the problems in enrollment. As such, the board needs to answer various questions and provide more evidence before we can move forward with their recommendation and predict its impact on enrollment.

First and foremost, there are many factors that influence enrollment. Among these factors are curriculum, tuition fees, advance placement options, college competitiveness, extracurricular activities and athletic departments. When parents decide which school to send their children to, advanced academic curriculum, low tuition fees and proximity in location are factors that can attract a parent’s interest. The board of directors did not share with readers such conditions of Cheshire College Preparatory Academy. For example, if the school increased tuition fees significantly in the past few years, the additional expenses are probably the main culprits of low enrollment. As such, we need to know if there are any other policy changes at Cheshire College Preparatory Academy in the past few years before we can determine the factor that is causing a decrease in enrollment. If the school can show that no policy changes have been implemented, we can then give their recommendation to dispense with the use of standardized tests as an entrance requirement more consideration.

Furthermore, as the board of directors mentioned in their statement, Cheshire College Preparatory Academy has faced difficulty in attracting students from non-legacy families. They claim that the only difference between entrance requirements for students from legacy families and for students from non-legacy families is the use of standardized testing, and the enrollment of students from legacy families remained consistent while the enrollment of students from non-legacy families have declined. However, there might be other reasons that impacted the enrollment of non-legacy students. For example, the school might need to step up their PR efforts, as non-legacy families might not be aware of the school and its eliteness because no one in the family has attended it before. Another reason why non-legacy families might be turned off from the school might be the lack of diversity. Legacy applicants are traditionally white, and the lack of diversity of the school might turn families away to a more inclusive environment. As such, a survey needs to be done of non-legacy students and families so that we can ascertain what factors attract or disinterest them to Cheshire College Preparatory Academy so that we can provide better recommendations as to improve enrollment.

Last but not least, the board of directors cited dropping exam requirements as the reason Surrey Academy overtook Cheshire College Preparatory Academy in enrollment. The board of directors then proposed that if Cheshire College Preparatory Academy dropped exam requirements as well, enrollment will improve. To strengthen their argument, the board of directors need to provide us with more data. Did Surrey Academy make any other policy changes besides dropping exam requirements that would attract enrollment? For example, Surrey Academy might have recently hired a world-renowned college admissions counsellor to their academic staff. Surrey Academy might also recently started offering scholarships for students who are academically advanced. As such, unless all things being equal, we cannot confidently conclude that dropping exam requirements was the main factor causing the enrollment increase at Surrey Academy. If the board of directors can provide evidence that the conditions of both schools were equal besides exam requirements, their argument would be strengthened.

In conclusion, more evidence needs to be provided by the board of directors on the conditions of both schools. If the board of directors can prove that there are no other distinguishing variables between Cheshire College Preparatory Academy and Surrey Academy, as well as evidence that dropping exam requirements can lead to higher enrollment rates, we can then give their recommendation serious consideration.