Should Colleges Use Admissions Criteria For Research Paper

With college admissions relying so highly on these tests many bright and capable students are getting left with little options (Sternberg 7). These students are facing this because the ACT and SAT primary focus on a narrow segment of skills that are needed to become a person that makes significant differences to the world (Sternberg 7). College’s argue that the admission test give them a quick glimpse of what the students potential is because they do not have to time to individually evaluate each potential student. This may be true but we need a better way to distinguish a person’s abilities than just a simple score on a test.

“I think there’s a real mismatch between what students think they need to do to get into college and what they actually need to do to get into college,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology Admissions Director Stuart Schmill told Matt Lauer on The TODAY Show. “I do believe that most students stress out over their SAT scores much more than they need to,” added Schmill, who endorsed the report’s recommendations.

If a student today was asked to determine what qualifies students to be college ready, they’ll typically respond with qualities they feel makes up a college-bound student. What will typically not be included in their explanation is their test scores on the ACT/ SAT. However, if a school administrator were asked what they believe makes a student college ready, they will usually respond back with a list of numbers they believe qualifies a student to continue their education after high school. Students are demonstrated to prioritize memorization of math formulas rather than critical thinking or real-world problem solving. Consequently, almost every college application requires students to provide their scores on these tests. This raises the issue of importance of numbers that have surpassed students in the education system, along with the American government.

The idea of not using a person ACT or SAT scores to ensure admission is a great idea. Most students want to get into a college of their dream unless they do well on their ACT or SAT. Some are really good test takers and some just fall under pressure. I think having a lot of pressure on your mind taking a test could push you to want to do better on your test and could also cause failure. It could go both ways. According to Hampshire weighed factors, standardized test do not predict a student's’ success in college. I strongly agree with this because I once had an older friend in the same position and He never got into the college he wanted because of his ACT or SAT. Later, He chose a different college and he did fairly well in all his classes

Although the SAT is a good indicator of reading, writing, comprehension, and basic math skills, it fails to show who prepared an individual is for college. The SAT only measures how good you are at taking it, not how smart you are, therefore it is not a good measure of a student's academic achievement. High school grades, on the other hand, are a good indicator. Studies have shown that the grades received in high school are a better predictor of grades in college than the SAT. For example, a student who earned C's throughout the course of high school will most likely earn C's throughout college. I believe that high school grades should be considered by colleges, however, they should not be the only things considered. Classes that a student

Test day, a day of struggle for American students constantly throughout their academic career. Whether the test be the SAT or an annual state exam, students usually do not seem mentally prepared for the massive task at hand. A test like the SAT could possibly determine the immediate futures of these individuals. However, are these complex assessments successfully examining the academics of the student body? Students should not be evaluated using standardized testing because they do not effectively measure a student’s complete academic capability. These tests limit the amount of true knowledge an individual can express in one sitting.

You are sitting in the testing room, anxiety rushing down your body. The smell of the freshly printed scantrons consumes your nose. The fears of forgetting the math formulas, running out of time, and not knowing the answer distract you from focusing on the test. The SAT, in other words, the scholastic aptitude test, also known as the test that destroys the lives of millions of high school students, is about to take place and determine your intelligence in the perspective of the various colleges you are about to apply to. The SAT is a collection of multiple-choice sections that unreliably measure a student performance through critical reading, math, and writing sections, asking questions intended to trick the test taker and convince them into picking the wrong answer choice. A majority of colleges and universities require students to take the SAT in addition to submitting their transcripts and college applications, however they have a standard as to what score a student must receive in order to be accepted. Thousands of students have their dreams crushed and are rejected from their ideal school because of the inability to score high on the test out of 2400. Students with limitless amounts of talent never get the opportunity to nurture their unique skills because the schools focus more on the student’s SAT score, instead of their overall strengths and expertise. SAT scores should not have a prominent role in college acceptance in that the test is socioeconomically biased to

Year-round students send in admissions requests and await anxiously for a response that is based on their academic excellence. This achievement can be expressed through a standardized test score, specifically the SAT. For some, this letter of acceptance is a confirmation for their futures, meaning that the test score received lays out the framework for their future successes. Because the exam raises such an importance in a student’s college future, the efficiency of the test should be examined and questions should be asked such as, is a person’s ability to comprehend basic math, reading skills, and writing techniques actually access a student’s abilities? And is

Getting into college is a major event in a high school seniors life. One of the many ways that a student can set themselves apart from others, is their SAT test score. Yet, the SAT’s are becoming more optional when applying to college now. Why do you ask? More and more schools are starting to realize the negatives of the SATS.

The leaves are turning from a summer green to the array of orange, yellow, and red hues. The fall has begun, but this means so has the college application season. Thousands of high school seniors are racing to testing centers last minute to gain extra points on their ACT and SAT scores. American College Testing (ACT) and Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) are college entrance tests giving ways for high school students to gain acceptance into college and earn merit scholarships. Typically Ivy League colleges require their students to score in the top 0.1% which means earning perfect scores on their ACT or SAT test. So when the fall season rolls around, students are cramming all night before the tests trying to memorize the tricks and ways to

The SAT does not effectively tell how well a student will do in life. Colleges that have gone test-optional have seen the evidence that SAT scores do not correlate. “A high test score tells you nothing about how a student will handle the vicissitudes of

But does a high school SAT score really predict success in college? “Most studies have found that the correlation between SAT scores and first-year college grades is not overwhelming, and that only 10 percent to 20 percent of the variation in first-year GPA is explained by SAT scores.”(Paulos) Schools are slowly beginning to realize that there is more to a student than a test score. “Today, more than a quarter of all American colleges and universities make reporting standardized test scores such as the SAT optional.” (MPRnews) Hampshire

University entrance test scores play a significant and usually underestimated role “in the college admission process,” which influences decisions in reference to “university admission and scholarship award offers” (Montgomery and Lilly 3). Due to the increase of applicants during the last few decades, universities have shifted to greatly rely upon standardized testing scores, especially for scholarship opportunities (Montgomery and Lilly 3). Various research studies show “that standardized tests are” accurate predictors of students’ academic performance in undergraduate and graduate levels (Shen et al. 197). For example, the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is one of the most used standardized tests that is recognized as a good predictor of students’ “first college year” performance (Buchmann et al. 439). In fact, an average of two million students take the SAT every year (Buchmann et al. 435). Although the SAT is an acceptable medium to predict how students will perform on their first year of undergraduate studies, it may need improvements to avoid favoring a specific gender and social class.

Approximately ten percent of four year colleges indicate that the SAT and ACT scores are optional for admission. Highly selective colleges may base admissions on formulas in which standardized test scores account for as much as two- thirds of the calculation. Although they do not measure many characteristics necessary for success in college, such as motivation, creativity and persistence, admissions tests are designed to provide a consistent measure across the variety of curricula and opportunities offered in the U.S. high schools.

Because colleges and universities primarily use the scores from a student’s SAT, and/or ACT, along with their high school grade point average (GPA) when selecting students for admittance, it is only pertinent to take a look at the validity of these test scores as predictors of a student’s knowledge base and ability to succeed at their institution.