New guidelines from the Department of Education calling on colleges to depend less on standardized tests in the admissions process may relieve high school juniors' anxiety as they prepare for the nationwide exams.

The guidelines, drafted by the department's Office of Civil Rights (OCR), warn that colleges that rely heavily on SAT scores are risking a civil rights violation because black and Latino students have lower average scores that white students.

"The issue of nondiscrimination in high stakes testing is, at its core, a critical issue concerning access to education," the draft's introduction says.

But OCR's plan has its critics.

Abigail M. Thernstrom '61, a member of the Massachusetts Board of Education, said the tests are an important tool for measuring how well an educational system is teaching its students.

"I don't equate a disparate racial and ethnic impact with discrimination," she said. "I'm convinced of [the tests'] integrity."

Thernstrom said that while she doesn't agree with OCR's logic, she can understand why the office chose to focus on standardize testing.

"When you see the numbers that you do with standardized test scores, showing that black or hispanic students are doing worse than white or Asian sudents... it's kind of a yellow warning light that tells you to ask yourself if there's a possibility of discrimination," she said.

Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons '67 said it's difficult to determine what effect the guidelines, if they go through, would have on Harvard's admissions process.