The following are a few differing opinions from a blogg on metafilter.com
http://www.metafilter.com/97324/Going-SAT-Free
"Hypothetically, standardized tests (especially "general aptitude" tests like the SAT) are supposed to at least partially weed out rich kids who have ample resources to pad their resumes. They still have an advantage, but it's not one that can be overtly "cheated" by anybody with enough money, which suspiciously seems like the case here. " The more and more we shift admissions away from objective measures and towards the interestingness of admissions essays and the number of extracurricular activities, the more we shift towards a process that disproportionately helps people who have all the money in the world to spend on those things.”
Then again this student admitted that they would not have gotten into college without the SAT because he/she had such a low GPA and what does that say about this person?
It's also worth pointing out, though, that one of the reasons a particular high school may have good connections with college admission boards is that students from that school tend to prosper at a given college.
“I was a bright kid who had a terrible family life in high school that ate into my extracurriculars and GPA somewhat- alcoholic father, parents divorced and remarried, blah blah it's a long story. Point is, I was one of those kids that did very well on tests, including the SATS, and APs and essays and things like that, but because of a crappy day-to-day life, arguments over money, and whatever else, was constantly tired in class and struggled to be "an achiever" Going to college and getting away from my parents was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
The above quotes argue the benefits of the SAT and I agree that it does have some pros like weeding out rich kids with connections, grade inflation, and a way to show intelligence to overcome a poor GPA due to family circumstances or what have you. However, I do not think standardized test scores should be considered a major indicator or future success. GPA and extracurriculars and essays should all be taken into account (which they are).
Take myself for example, I graduated with a 3.67, had an impressive list of youth activism, volunteer activities, and awards. However, when I took the ACT and got a 19, I freaked out. I didn't even make it through 1/3 of each section, but the ones I did get to were mostly correct. I took it again...same thing, so I went an got myself tested to see if there was something wrong with my brain that was out of my control. Indeed there was, but by the time I figured that out, I had already been accepted to the UM in Missoula without the chance to explain my low score in an essay. Thank goodness the UM accepts many walks of live (as long as you are coming from an MT school).
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Not to argue with any point of this post,... I just would like to add that i NEVER actually have taken an ACT or SAT or whatever the other tests are. I was told it was required in high school to take the tests but i thought i had better stuff to do with my free time (like sports). I somehow slipped under the radar. I graduated high school just fine without taking any of them. To get to the point if they are relevant for college,... Well as of now i already have one college degree (making the Deans List EVERY semester) and am now working on a second degree hopefully followed by a Masters and my PhD. So i guess i am a prime example that it really doesn't matter what grade you get on them because i didnt even take the damn things!
ReplyDeleteI don't believe these tests are good predictors of how successful a student will be in college. For many reasons but the most significant reason is the example CR gave. Many individuals are very successful regardless on a simple test score. Its probably all a big scam for the education industry to make more money. Kidding! However, I do believe that these tests help large universities to weed out students. Large institutions use this test as a tool to be more selective with their student body. Most universities require a good score combined with a good GPA in order to be accepted. So in a perfect world if an individual's performance was great on the test they would be able to get into a better university and possibly be more successful.
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