Are SAT scores inflated at test opt schools because of non-reporting?
Are SAT scores inflated at test optional schools because of non-reporting?
Some of the test optional colleges report awfully high average SAT tests scores. Could this be because only the applicants with higher SAT scores are submitting their scores (and conversely the applicants with the lower SAT scores don't report their scores at all) and consequently the true average score of enrolling students is lower than what the college reports?
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Yes, absolutely - test-optional policies have sometimes been criticized as a way for colleges to inflate their averages and rise in rankings. Here's a CollegeVine article that briefly addresses the ways colleges benefit from test-optional policies: https://blog.collegevine.com/what-test-optional-means-for-college-admissions/
That said, it's difficult to know just how inflated the averages are - you could go back and look at average SAT scores from before and after the school went test-optional, but you would also need to account for the fact that scores tend to rise each year as admissions becomes more competitive.
The average SAT scores at test-optional schools should still be a good target, especially if the schools are competitive. The more a student's academic profile aligns with (or exceeds) the school's published stats, the better their chances are.
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Could you please clarify what you mean exactly? Perhaps provide a link to an article about the issue?