College Board Decides To End Plans For SAT 'Adversity Score' After Backlash

The College Board, which administers the SAT exams widely used in U.S. college admissions, has decided to not implement its proposed Environmental Context Dashboard, which some have called the "adversity score"

The dashboard would have a score from 1 to 100 which would reflect a student's socioeconomic status, such as whether they are from a high crime or poor area of the country. Colleges could then refer to the score during the admissions process.

The idea of a single number being used received wide criticism, with detractors saying it could be vulnerable to manipulation and that College Board shouldn't even be collecting such background info.

The College Board will implement a system called Landscape, which provides college "admission officers more consistent background information so they can fairly consider every student, no matter where they live and learn," David Coleman, the CEO of the College Board, said.

The system will provide an array of data on a student's background, instead of with just one number. "Landscape" will be available next year.

These new initiatives to highlight adversity by the College Board come after a scandal earlier this year, where rich Hollywood stars such as Full House actress Lori Loughlin and Desperate Housewives' Felicity Huffman were found to have bribed U.S. colleges to grant admission to their children.

The scandal has brought renewed attention to how the wealthy influence admissions.