The admissions decisions of a university are one of its four "essential freedoms," and the courts, as a general rule, defer to universities' judgments regarding academic decisions. In many cases, the courts have said that admissions standards cannot be high-handed, arbitrary, or formulated in bad faith, and they must fall within constitutionally permissible parameters. The two areas that have been challenged in the use of standardized test are equal protection and due process. The implication of challenges to the use of standardized tests is that universities must show a reasonable relationship between their practice and their conceded purpose. In response to concerns about bias in standardized tests against ethnic minorities and women, the courts basically have said that standardized tests should not be the sole criteria for admission to a university. Administrators who wish to protect themselves from litigation should not use standardized tests as a very important part of the admissions process. (Contains 24 references.) (SLD)