High school diplomas (= Abitur/Matura/Baccalauréat) mean nothing in the US. Universities are instead looking at 3rd party testing. The most popular of these 3rd party tests are SATs. But there are many more tests you can take like e.g. ACT scores.

zuspotirko

Could you maybe explain for non-us people what SAT stands for?

oliverweiss

Not surprising since society has been pushing college over trade schools as a way to open up job opportunities, even though most jobs requiring degrees rarely need them (and few actually pay better).

netstatic

kepford

charts_and_numbers

![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GJCRQF5XsAABNkH?format=png&name=small)

> Between 2007 and 2020 the average graduation rate at public high schools in America leapt from 74% to 87%...Yet SAT scores fell. Results from the latest PISA test show that maths and reading literacy are flat or down