Argumentative Essay On SAT Testing

Anyone who has ever taken the ACT or the SAT knows how stressful and difficult the tests are. Students are forever judged because of the scores the receive by colleges and peers. The ACT/SAT are standardized tests that are meant to calculate what students have learned in previous years of high school. Colleges then use this score to determine whether a student will succeed in college. Specific problems with this process include the fact that high schoolers are extremely busy and may have other things on their minds, the tests require brutal test prep, the test can cause stress and anxiety, and the tests do not accurately gage a student’s college success. For these main reasons, students should not be required to take the ACT/SAT to get into college.

Einstein once said, “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Likewise, if a poor test-taker is judged by their SAT score, they could be forced to attend an inadequate institute of higher education. For decades, the SAT has been “the test” that makes or breaks a student's chances of getting into their top college. Generally, the privileged populace do well, but minorities and women do not come out as strong and are therefore limited to college choice. The SAT has proven to be an unsuitable, biased method for predicting success of students in college.

For students to get accepted into most institutes, they must pass the admissions requirements that school has placed. Most likely having a decent SAT/ACT score and a good standing GPA is required, along with recommendations and sometimes an essay. However, should colleges really rely on standardized test scores to determine a student’s success in college? One single test should not determine how well a student would do in college or determine whether they should get accepted into that college. Instead, they should remove the requirement for SAT/ACT scores and rely on the student’s high school grade point average. Students build their GPA within four years, and that can determine their effort, focuses, and diligence, as stated by Jada Bah, “SAT/ACT Scores Alone Should Not Predict College Success.” A four-hour test should override a four-year grade.

The ACT and SAT were created to accurately measure the knowledge of our children and make sure they are prepared for college, yet often times it seems to have the opposite effect. Due to the tests, some students are deciding not to go to college just to avoid paying so much money when they do not think they can do well in college courses. Even if students do decide to go to college, they may avoid taking classes with large tests due to test phobia developed from the ACT or SAT (Paul 42). Seeing such low scores in certain subjects can lower a student’s confidence and willingness to take those classes in college. By not taking certain classes, a student is limiting what major they can complete which will lowering their career options (Paul 42). We can’t let this happen to our students! We can’t let one stupid test destroy the careers and futures of hundreds of teenagers. The long term effects of the trauma created by the ACT and SAT are detrimental to today’s students.

High School juniors and seniors are frequently asked what they plan to do for their college education. While discussing their future in college, many relevant topics come into the conversation. One may talk about their grades and classes, paying for school, and their test scores. All of these have a very important impact on what a student will do for the next few years of their life. Unfortunately, in our society, test scores are an extremely important factor in the college admissions process. Students are highly encouraged to put forth a serious effort in order to achieve the best possible score. “To this day, most four-year colleges require applicants to take one or more of a number of standardized tests for admission, and

Imagine a test capable of making or breaking a student's chances of getting into his or her dream college. Imagine a test score that can be easily influenced, but only through thousands of dollars worth of coaching. Now imagine that same test but biased towards certain crowds of students while also being incapable of accurately predicting their futures. Is this the test you want for colleges to use in order to distinguish students? This is the SAT—famous for the unnecessary pressure it presents to students as well as the unfair disadvantages it presents to many others. Since these SAT scores are extremely artificial, SAT tests are not an accurate predictor for future success.

Colleges can consider high school GPA as the alternative for test scores. Almost all of the schools during admission completely overlook high school GPA. William C. Hiss, a principal investigator of Defining promise, declares “High school grades matter, and they matter a lot” (Maitre, par.2). It is not fair for many students like Ms. Casimir, a sophomore attending Wake Forest University, who scored 1580 in SAT. This was “an embarrassment” as she graduated high school “with a 4.0” (Simon, par.10). Her dreams to go to “Cornell” and “Davidson” was shattered but yet she was admitted by the “Wake Forest University which gave her full ride without seeing her SAT score and she has 3.2 GPA now” (Simon, par.10). It’s not a miracle as diligence and

The SAT is a standardized test which over a million students take per year. This test supposedly was made to determine, approximately, how well freshmen in college will do. Although, studies have shown only twenty five percent of test takers scores actually match their grades (O'Shaughnessy). The SAT is unnecessary and unfair for students applying for college because it prevents diversity in schools and big businesses only care about the profit from the test.

ACT vs SAT. Many Illinois high schools have decided to continue with the ACT for this year,

When you think SAT’s, you probably don’t think “Fun”. Well, neither do many adults and officials. In fact, many want to change how these tests work. Nevertheless, there are still some people that think these tests are perfectly fine. So, which is right? Should we make our tests better or keep them the exactly how they are to this day? I wholeheartedly believe that our testing policies should be altered, and maybe I can convince you of this too. I will try and describe the many reasons that we should modify, such as how much time testing takes away from precious learning and the reality that SAT’s are ineffective.

Many students and parents may believe that investing a lot of time, money, and energy in preparation for the SAT helps students get accepted into their dream colleges, thus leading to a successful career. Despite that belief, “students may spend hundreds of dollars and countless hours on test prep and take the SAT multiple times, and still not receive a score that reflects their achievement in school (Vitale).” To refute the notion that the SAT leading students into a successful career, Professor Harvey Gilmore inputs his personal experience with the SAT. Gilmore compared his SAT scores to how they have affected him in the long run. He received a “830 out of 1600” on the SAT, which is equivalent to a “1245 out of a maximum score of 2400 today

Have you ever thought about what college you want to go to after high school? In order to get into that college, you must be accepted. Colleges look for a numerous amount of criteria in order for you to get accepted, and one of those things colleges look for is your standardized test score. The standardized test is a test administered and scored in a consistent, or “standard”, way (edglossary.org). Seeing that you must get a high enough score on the test in order for your dream college to accept you, the tests are difficult, but are very worth it at the end. Colleges have been accepting students into their school with standardized test scores for more than 50 years, and with that being said, it has seemed to work pretty well (content.time.com). In the end, standardized test scores show that you deserve to go to that college, and is also a way of showing that you’ve worked hard for so long to accomplish something huge.

SAT and ACT standardized testing has been required by colleges since the 1920’s, however a new trend of test optional schools have been appearing. Test optional schools allow students to choose whether they want to submit their test scores to colleges. It is supposed to stop unfairness and bias in the college acceptance process. Bowdoin College was the first school to become test optional in 1969. However, it was not until 2009 that many schools also started to become test optional. Today more than 870 school are test optional. Schools are choosing to pick the right students instead of the best test takers.  Colleges are questioning whether SAT and ACT can really predict a person’s future success.

The weight of standardized test scores in the admissions process is unfair to students. All students prepare for the test in some way or another. Some parents will pay hundreds of dollars on test prep class and materials in hopes that their child will succeed on the test and attend a top college. Students come from various economic backgrounds, so parents may not be able to afford the test prep classes and materials but they want their child to succeed and attend college where they want to go. These students still deserve the chance to go to their dream school even though their parents cannot afford the test prep. The children should not be punished just because of their economic situation. A number of universities claim that the test scores help

Supporters of the test may state it is a good base or “key” to use and gage a student when looking to gauge their academic skill level. Swing to the other side and it’s unsurprisingly easy to find the reasons to oppose the test. Reasons include that the test prevents some students from unlocking their full academic potential due to their lack of easily available resources. Lack of these resources could be due to financial situations or a person’s ethnic background. Studies show the SAT cannot predict a student’s performance in secondary school. These studies examine and exhibit to us (the viewer) that the SAT lacks in showing a student’s true qualities and work ethic. Segregating students based on a test prevents a student from possibly unlocking their full potential. Students judged by their SAT are not the only ones missing out on potential academic success, the future of America loses the chance to further educate the next generation of potential