SAT Persuasive Essay

Whether we realize it or not, test scores play a vital role in many people’s self esteem. A person who frequently scores high will be confident that they are very intelligent and will expect others to see them that way. Asimov attested to this when he stated, “All my life I’ve been registering scores like that, so that I have the complacent feeling that I’m highly intelligent, and I expect other people to think that too.” (Asimov, 536). On the other hand, those who score low on tests often write themselves off to be unintelligent. Emphasis on the importance of the ACT or SAT test scores can lead an adolescent to conclude that he or she is not capable of succeeding in college and lead them to not pursue higher education. The tragedy is that we may pass on opportunities because we have labelled ourselves unintelligent based on a test score which is not a true refelection of our

Standardized testing has been around since the early 1900’s. Today, it determines a high school student’s future. Every year juniors in high school start to prepare months in advance for the SAT’s and ACT’s. Along with the test itself, comes stress that is not necessary. The debate of standardized tests defining a student’s academic ability or not has become a recent popular controversial topic. Many colleges and universities are starting to have test optional applications because they are realizing that a single test score does not demonstrate the knowledge of a student. There is more value in a student that should rule an acceptance or rejection. In the article, “SAT Scores Help Colleges Make Better Decisions” Capterton states, “The SAT has proven to be valid, fair, and a reliable data tool for college admission” (Capterton). Capterton, president of the College Board, believes that the SAT’s and ACT’s should be used to determine a student’s acceptance because it is an accurate measure. What Capterton and deans of admissions of colleges and universities don’t know is the abundant amount of resources upper class families have for preparation, the creative talents a student has outside of taking tests, and the amount of stress they put on a 17 year old.

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.

Standardized testing has been ruling over the lives of students, making or breaking them in their education without fair judgement. Tests like the SAT and the ACT count for way too much when applying to colleges, which in turn limits the student 's capabilities to thrive in an environment that would benefit them. There are many problems within a standardized test that deems them to be unreliable as a true test of knowledge. Although designed to test groups of students on intelligence, standardized testing neglects to fairly acknowledge the abilities of each unique student which reflect their true capabilities.

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.

In 2011, Jen Wang was finishing up her freshman year at Connecticut College. As a young girl growing up in New Jersey, Jen took her first SAT when she was in the sixth grade, long before other students her age would even start to think about college. Jen said that test preparations for standardized tests, like the SAT, took up most of her free time that could have been used to do other things (Billy). The SAT’s early intent was to open doors of higher education to students without traditional credentials, but now this test is held at high esteem, the biggest indicator of college success (Mulugetta). Although standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT are used to “level the playing field” for students across the country, these tests add little

Schools need to find ways to evaluate students which do not discriminate on race, gender, or economic status. By using tests like the ACT and SAT, colleges are unintentionally showing favoritism to groups like Caucasians, males, and the upper class. "Standardized tests are biased in favor of those whose culture and upbringing most closely resembles that of the test makers- typically, white middle-class males" (Facts). FairTest: The National Center for Fair and Open Testing did a study

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.

Standardized tests give students who are better test takers an advantage over those who are not. An American association known as Posse Scholars gives students who excelled in school the opportunity to retake the SAT if their scores were not expected. “Posse Scholars' combined median reading and math SAT score is only 1,050, while the median combined score at the colleges Posse students attend varies from 1,210 to 1,475. Nevertheless, they succeed. Ninety percent of Posse Scholars graduate -- half of them on the dean's list and a quarter with academic honors” (Rosenberg). Posse has a goal of eliminating the gap between students’ scores on the SAT. They choose students all around America who excel in academics but didn’t score exactly how they wanted to have another chance in conquering the test. This way, gaps in SAT scores will be a reflection of a student’s work in school rather than someone choking up on a

Numerous institutions across the United States put an abundance amount of stress on standardized test scores when admitting undergraduates (Toppo, 2014). With all the statistics presenting that minorities and low income citizens are at detriment in advance to them sending an application to a university admission board due to their SAT scores, would it not be logical to simply look at what a student has accomplished in 12 years of grade school and not what score they acquire on an assessment in 3 hours of their lives (Sternburg, 2012)? Unfortunately, students stress over what they achieve on a three-hour assessment which causes extreme test anxiety. As a society we need extensive assessments because they will help benefit us in achieving the type of civilization in which is vital and we all desire to

Every year, as spring approaches, students across the country prepare to take either the SAT or the ACT. Some students or groups of students consistently outperform others. The question is why. The factors that affect students’ performance on college admissions exams are race, gender and geographic location, preparation, and socioeconomic status.

This is meshes with the whole real life situation-scenario. The new SAT is not trying to trick you it is trying to test ones knowledge. Atkinson and Geiser add, “the exam will be a more straightforward test of material that students encounter in the classroom(Atkinson and Geiser). The college Boards focus is more curriculum-based more than it ever was in the past. This is more fair for students to test on than tricky puzzle-like questions. Not only is the test more fair but it shows students true potential through their work displayed on the test.

When colleges give the option where you do not have to submit test scores it usually increases applications. When schools reject more applicants they appear to be more selective. But the people in admissions look at it as though it is an opportunity for people who don't fare well on standardized tests, minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged. Although studies have shown that SAT and ACT predict freshman G.P.A. when combined with a students high school grade-point average, a new study found that the quality of the student does not suffer when the test scores are removed. A question that was asked throughout the process was: “Are the test-optional policies actually affecting diversity on campus?”

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.

Everyone knows the importance that tests like the ACT and SAT play for students who are trying to get into their dream school. The preparations for these tests are not easy. From personal experience, these said tests were stressful, time consuming and hard to study for. Balancing time for things like school work and a job were hard enough as it was, so finding the time to study for the ACT was basically impossible. To top it off, I did not have the money to afford such study classes and materials for the test. I found it extremely discriminating. After doing some research, I found that I was not the only one who found these standardized tests to be bias and unfair towards specific groups of students. Due to such unequal treatment, I believe