Despite questions about admissions standards at other public universities, Penn State has no plans to change its current admissions criteria.

University of California President Richard Atkinson announced last month that he is recommending that the Scholastic Aptitude Test no longer be used in that university's admissions process.

But Penn State administrators are not following Atkinson's lead.

"It is not in the thinking right now . . . we are mindful of what other people are thinking about, but we feel . . . using the SAT is appropriate," said Geoffrey J. Harford, admissions services and evaluation director.

Atkinson is proposing an elimination of the SAT from admission requirements at California state schools, saying it is not an accurate measure of how well a student will perform in college or the true level of their academic ability.

America's overemphasis of SAT scores has hurt the nation's educational system, he added.

He also said the elimination of the SAT in the admissions process would attract more minority students because SAT scores are lower on average among minority students, even in those who perform well in high school.

While using only the SAT to determine admissions is not appropriate, it is useful as one tool to measure applicants, Harford said.

"We feel that the SAT plays a role in the application process — not the most important role, but a role," he said.

At Penn State, SAT scores are given one-third of the weight in considering applicants for college admission.

Academic ability and high school performance account for the other two thirds of the technique Penn State uses to evaluate applicants.

Harford could not say whether Penn State would ever consider eliminating the SAT in the future.

"What will happen in 10, 15, 20 years, I don't know," Harford said.

Michael Barron, dean of admissions at the University of Iowa, said that he does not see his school eliminating use of the SAT as a measure of academic ability in the near future either.

"The SAT and the ACT are currently the best assessment we have . . . I am not yet convinced that universities or states have another assessment that has the national applicability of these tests," Barron said.

Barron also said he does not think the SAT is perfect and he sees reasons other schools may plan to eliminate the test as admission standards in the future.

"We believe that it can be improved. The fact that Atkinson has put this issue on the table is not a bad thing. It's an important issue, and it's good to raise it," he said.

Student reactions to the possibility of eliminating the SAT were mixed.

"I think it is an overall good test. If they get rid of the SAT, what other standard are they going to go by?," Robert Pierson (junior-civil engineering) said.

Katrina Dykes (sophomore-health policy administration) disagreed.

"I didn't think that the SAT is really a judge of a student's ability," she said.