On Saturday, about 370,000 students nationwide will take the American College Testing program test (ACT). However, a growing number of colleges are reducing their dependence on standardized test scores as a requirement for admission, say observers. Dropping the requirement for SAT or ACT tests allows them to admit more women, minorities and economically disadvantaged students.

• A record 280 colleges now admit students without requiring either ACT or SAT scores, according to a September 1998 survey by Fairtest -- a group critical of testing.

• Texas' public universities now automatically accept any Texas students ranking in the top 10 percent of their high schools' graduating classes.

• When Bates College stopped requiring test scores in 1984, applications jumped 60 percent -- which college officials say has allowed the college to be more selective.

However, Richard L. Ferguson, president of ACT, says "To forego objectivity and base admissions decisions solely on subjective information would be unfair to all students."

Source: Editorial, "More Schools Make Tests Optional, Lure Diverse, Qualified Students," and Richard L. Ferguson, "'Common Yardstick' Crucial," both USA Today, October 22, 1998.