The exigence for my issue brief stems mainly from the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the education system. As schools were forced online and in-person classes could no longer be safely held, this created a significant issue for students who were scheduled to take SAT and ACT entrance exams to gain entrance into colleges as they graduate high school. With no other options for these exams to be held securely and fairly. With exams unable to be held virtually for students, there was no other option for these traditional college entrance exams to be held. Colleges moved to make their admissions process test-optional so applicants would not be hindered by the pandemic. As the college admissions process came into the limelight recently as colleges changed their policies due to the pandemic, standardized testing came under scrutiny once again. Most notably, the University of California system says that they plan to phase out admissions testing over the next five years. With new talks of the possible end of standardized testing due to a history of issues regarding equality for students. The exigence of this sudden, radical shift in test-optimal admissions, gives way to an opportunity to implement changes to make these exams more equal instead of getting rid of them completely. I plan to address this exigence by discussing the history of these exams and employing kairos through the COVID-19 pandemic leading the way to a time to implement changes to a long flawed system.

The audience for my issues brief is primarily representative of the organizations that administer these tests: the College Board and the ACT. These organizations are the ones to write and administer these exams to thousands of students across the country each year. By addressing my issue brief to them, I can contact those that are able to implement the proposed changes to help make the tests fairer for students. Secondary audiences include students and educators who are also greatly involved in the testing process. Furthermore, the Department of Education is important to consider a governing body that can enforce these changes to the testing system. This department can help certify equality of exam administration for students around the country as well as certifying that exams are being crafted in correlation with these guidelines. The combination of the Department of Education and organizations such as the College Board and ACT are able to secure equal testing for all students. This would include accessibility measures for test preparation materials as well as regulations for creating the tests and the release of content ahead of time. Additionally, Educators are crucial to the success of students in the testing process and many schools offer preparatory courses for these exams. Students, who are generally not fond of these exams, will be another important population to consider in my issue brief as to not create additional problems for students while trying to solve the overhead problems of inequality.  These four audiences are essential to consider while I write my issue brief and I will take careful consideration of their values and roles in the college admissions testing process.