SAT Testing Persuasive Essay

The SAT is a test that many feel helps the privileged. Many also believe that it is unnecessary and that it does not actually prepare students for college or the future. Charles Murray in the article, “Abolish the SAT” also believes that the SAT needs to be “abolished” and writes on why we do not need the SAT in a critical and vigorous manner.

This first reason that colleges should stop using the ACT/SAT is that some people are simply not skilled in taking standardized tests. Cecelia Simon confirms that “Some students really struggle with standardized testing, and their scores don’t reflect their abilities.” (Simon). As simple of a problem as this sounds, there are logical reasons behind poor test taking. One of the main reasons exists when test takers are busy and have other things on their minds causing them to become distracted. For example, if James has a chapter test in his precalculus class the day after he plans on taking the ACT, he is going to be distracted while taking his ACT. Since he was distracted, his score will not be accurate in relation to his

In the United States, minority students tend to score lower on the SAT than the white majority. From 2012-2013, the average SAT mathematics score for white test takers was a 534, however, for black students it was a 429. Similarly, the average critical-reading score for white students was a 527, and a 431 for black students (NCES 1). In a recent interview with CNN, Monty Neill, FairTest deputy director said: “Most colleges will use the SAT as one piece of evidence, but a lot of them will use it to weed out a whole lot of kids who never then get a chance (Prois 1).” This means that minorities, who traditionally score lower, are going to get left out because they will not be predicted to do well. By abolishing the SAT, all students will be given an equal opportunity to get into college. They will be able to show their success through academics, their writing, and the activities they did while in high

“I was in trouble. The first analogies were pretty straightforward- along the lines of ‘leopard is to spotted as zebra is too striped’- but now I was in the tall weeds of nuance. Kangaroo is to marsupial as the giant squid is to- I don’t know, maybe D) cephalopod?” (Boylan). As we all know, tests vary from straightforward, to mildly difficult, to just unforgiving and torture for the mind, but this is life and whether people like it or not, everybody has to take a test in their academic career. In specific, the quote at the start of the paragraph shows the author of Save Us From the SAT, explaining to the reader her struggles when she took the SAT or Scholastic Assessment Test. But not to worry because College Board announced in late March that they will be redesigning the SAT to make it, as they say, more high school oriented. The way the SAT is being changed is by making the essay optional, taking out the odd and unusual vocabulary words and replacing them with words that people use day to day life, allowing it to be taken on a computer, and most importantly not penalizing the test taker for getting the wrong answer. This all sounds fantastic, but there is one problem and that is that the new exam will be put into use in 2016. That is my problem, why would they make people suffer and make the test only available until 2016. In my opinion, College Board should speed up the process of making the new SAT in order for other people to benefit from the changes.

The SAT is unfair to students of color due to its racist background. Originally this test had been created by Carl Brigham (Prois). This man believed that whites had superior traits to other races across the world. By making this test he believed it proved

Colleges use the ACT and SAT tests to predict how students will perform in college and also to decide whether they can get into the college and receive scholarships. There is controversy on whether gpa and more essays is a better way to decide scholarships and admissions. I believe the ACT and SAT are not the best way to predict how smart a student is or how well they will do in college and they should not be used for admissions and scholarships. A few reasons come to mind when making this decision. Before anything I will explain what the ACT and SAT are, then why the ACT and SAT are biased, why gpa is a better way to predict first year college performance, results that colleges are getting from removing test scores from admissions, and why teaching students how to test is taking away from their actual learning.

The SAT is still flawed along with the ACT and does not have any major differences between the two tests.

Advocating is a necessity that can help make people aware of the injustices with these tests and help recommend better and fairer evaluation tools. Advocating for the removal of college entrance exams also needs to be increased as well. Currently, there are over 800 colleges that are SAT/ACT optional. The research has shown that these schools still admit the same level of quality students and that their graduation rates have remained the same since they have dropped the SAT/ACT requirement. The statistics from these colleges need to be disseminated

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

Walk into the building 15 minute early: you have your number 2 pencils, a big eraser, and a calculator. The lady at the door checks your ticket, then your license, and checks you off the list. “Go to the bathroom before you enter the room and leave all items like food, water, and electronics out of the testing room, otherwise you will be kicked out and your test will not be scored” bluntly said the ACT test official. You enter the test room and sit and talk with the people around you before the test begins. The test official rattles all the instructions off like a robot. You and 1.92 million people took the ACT exam this year. Unlike the 1.7 million people who took the SAT.

The same lady with the problem with my shorts scoffs and gives me a smug look before opening her mouth,

In recent years colleges have been beginning to disregard the SAT and/or ACT. According to Rooney and Schaeffer, more than two hundred and seventy five colleges have joined this movement as the colleges are arguing that disregarding these standardized tests have allowed for their incoming classes to be more diverse and have a higher standard in regards to academic quality. Through not using these tests while selecting students for their school it allows for more students who are apart of minority groups to have an opportunity at these schools. The main issue with the SAT and/or ACT tests are that colleges that only base their admissions on these tests limit themselves to choosing students based off a multiple choice exam instead of looking into the background participation the student had in previous high

Unlike the ACT, the SAT is tested heavily on Math and English because the SAT seeks to” measure a students’ ability to learn” (McManus 1). The test “is designed to provide information as independently as possible from the high school curricula, measuring more abstractly defined education aptitudes” (McManus 1). The ACT was designed to measure how much the student has already learned (McManus 1). The ACT asks its testers to “integrate the knowledge and skills they possesses in major curriculum areas with the information provided by the test; In this way, there a direct relationship to the students’ progress in educational progress in curriculum-related areas” (McManus 1). Although each Test is vastly different, they both share one huge problem.

The ACT and SAT are both forms of standardized tests used to show colleges the progress a student has made. The ACT may be considered a broad exam but many students may still choose its opponent. American College Testing was developed to rival the SAT in the 1950s but has it done its job? This question has formed many debates but in the end the student may still choose which they prefer to take. I believe that the chosen test should reflect the subjects a student is strong in.

“Your assignment is to write a persuasive essay and present it to the class in a week. You will be graded based on how convincing it is. Today we will be choosing topics,” announced Mr. Bowerbank, my 7th grade English teacher and ruler of classroom 110. My class simultaneously groaned at the prospect of work. I simply lifted my head with intrigue as it was already May and about time we had our first essay. He then proceeded to give examples of topics we could choose and gave us some time to think before we had to tell him our topic. My classmates were already rushing to tell the teacher their idea lest someone else steal it. That meant the usual abortion, death penalty, or drug use topics were out. I really couldn't think of anything and the teacher was slowly making his way through the remaining students like an executioner beheading criminals in a line. I have always thought that he would make a marvelous supervillain if he had a curly mustache, a tophat, and a cape. Eventually my name was called. I slowly dragged myself over to his desk. Even sitting down, he still seemed to tower over me. “What is your topic Cindy?” As usual in such desperate times, my mind turned to food. “Waffles are better than pancakes.” I figured that a waffle was just a differently shaped pancake with a nicer texture. “Hmm. Excellent topic. I look forward to your essay!” I survived to live yet another day.