BATON ROUGE — LSU's Board of Supervisors passed a standardized testing requirement on Friday that will affect incoming freshmen beginning in 2027. 

The new requirement will have incoming freshmen with a high school GPA below 3.5 submit standardized test scores. The requirement will be in effect until 2028, when all applicants will be required to submit test scores regardless of GPA.

LSU officials said they found that students who applied without test scores had lower retention rates and GPAs. Students who applied without test scores had first-term GPAs that were 0.29 points lower on average.

Half of the schools in the SEC now require test scores for some or all students. LSU officials said the change will help align the school with other universities and support student success.

LSU has not required test scores since the COVID-19 pandemic.