It all started back in 1926 when the first SAT was administered to high school students. The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is a test dreaded by high school students, given to them spring of junior year. It’s goal is to academically test students to see if they would be a good fit in that certain college and play a role in admissions. “More and more schools have been finding that the SAT provides neither an accurate nor helpful view of its applicants (Flore) .” Over time it's becoming more accepted that the SAT doesn’t show the students ability. In the U.S. there are already 850 colleges that are SAT optional, meaning that they don't require test scores in admissions. Grade point average and AP tests showcase the students academic skill more. Colleges should get rid of the reliance on SAT scores in admissions.
It’s been proven that these test-taking abilities don’t properly gauge a student’s ability to perform. The tests center is math and english, but with so much content it can be hard for a student to study. It’s not like a regular quiz in class where the student knows the exact material. WIth the SAT having influence on college admissions students feel like they can move their grades to the bottom of their priorities. According to a study done by Princeton, it found that going SAT optional would result in classes of students with higher grade point averages, “Dropping testing entirely, on the other hand, would result in higher levels of academic achievement in the
There has been an SAT optional movement in which many liberal arts colleges in the US decided not to require SAT or ACT scores as they thought it had outlived its usefulness.
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.
I agree with the idea to lessen the importance of any type of standardized test. Just as Stu Schmill, dean of admissions at MIT, stated, “’I do believe that most
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.
It has become a problem and schools should really consider taking it out of admissions. It has been proven that SAT/ACT scores don’t predict a student’s success, so why not remove it. A solution to this problem would be to rely on the student’s high school GPA and maybe two other factors to go along with the application. A high school GPA is made up within four years and it determines how well the student handled state tests and other educational obstacles. Institutes should consider this a problem and propose a solution because a four-hour test should not override a four-year grade, as stated
For many years, standardized tests have been a pillar of college admissions. Students are persuaded to take the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) or the American College Test (ACT) because colleges believe the scores can predict an applicant’s academic success after high school. However, an increasing number of colleges have made reporting test scores optional due to inconsistencies with the tests, many of which have been emphasized by students. These inconsistencies and other problems with test distribution have led to increasing demands for standardized testing to be reformed or become optional in the admissions process. Standardized testing should be eliminated as a criterion for college applicants because the tests have made education less significant, have made scores vary among students with similar academic abilities, and have not contributed a noticeable improvement to children’s intelligence.
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.
Sitting on the computer, signing up for the SAT, I envisioned myself taking the standardized test that so many dreaded. I saw myself kicking butt on the exam, exceeding my expectations, and earning myself admission into the college of my choice, which I had not yet decided on. When the day had come to take the test, junior year of high school, I was terrified, not because of the test, but because of the circumstances I now found myself in. School had always been tricky for me – waking up and getting ready in the morning, forcing myself onto the bus, the worst parts. My grades were amazing though, considering my fear of school. I earned mainly A’s in college prep and honors classes.
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.
SAT is one of the most important of any teenager in high school. The SAT determines the fields of college admission and higher education. Moderate of student get into this $500 dollars program for 5 years to study for the SAT. This program helps a student get 1600 on the SAT. That 1600 includes math, reading, and writing. If you get a 800 on everything, then you might just get a scholarship. However, I believe that the SAT is not an accurate valid test for students. Many students have the knowledge to pass, but can also stress about it so much that it messes with them during the test. Also, I don’t think the SAT should affect whether you go into a good college or not. Yet, many student believe that this is their only shoot into
The College Boared believs that this SAT tests students potential by their revisions made on the exam. The College Board carefully went through each section and displayed information relevant to the workplace and college studies. These revisions include taking away a students calculator on the math portion, or even testing students on historical american figures. All in all, the new SAT is displayued with a purpose behind each and every question. The old SAT was tricky and really is hard for students who don’t test well. According to Atkinson and Geiser, “the exam will be a more straightforward test of material that students encounter in the classroom(Atkinson and Geiser). The exam being straight forward is more fair for
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.
SAT testing was created based off the Army IQ testing originally named, “Scholastic Aptitude Test” (Berger, 2012, p.168). Around the 1930s it was used “… as a scholarship test for Ivey League schools.” (Serious, 2014). The test was designed with the goal to open up admission to colleges based on being the brightest individuals not the richest. In “1990 the College
The SAT started off as being a test that could predict a student’s capabilities of succeeding at colleges. For it to start off as being a test that was only associated with a few colleges, it has expanded and is to a point where it has changed the lives of millions of people around the nation. The test consisted of a reading, math, and essay in which a student has 3 hours and forty five minutes to complete (College Board). Over time the role of how big the test plays in the admissions process. The SAT is seen as a factor that ties into your grades and your extracurricular activities, and is way for colleges to get to know you (College Board). If the SAT just happens to be one factor of a process then why place so many guidelines around the test? How
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