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Argumentative Essay On SAT Vs Act

442 Words2 Pages

The majority of high school students tend to spend their spring semester of their junior year preparing to take the SAT or ACT. Often, colleges worldwide decide whether to accept the student or to estimate the amount of scholarship tuition based on these two assessments.
So what exactly is the SAT and the ACT? According to Princeton Review, it defines the SAT as "The Scholastic Assessment Test, now called the SAT Reasoning Test, which is a test that measures the reading, writing and math levels of high school juniors and seniors" (Princeton Review). The ACT, on the other hand, is defined as, "Data on student preparation, college readiness, and achievement in college" (Oxford Dictionaries). The two assessments are tests that colleges values …show more content…

One of the first circumstances is reliability. An Emeritus Professor at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and informational studies, W. James Popham claimed, "With respect to education assessment, reliability equals consistency" (ACSD Unraveling Reliability, Popham). An important factor when looking at a test 's reliability is the "standard error of measurement". Popham stated, "Standard errors of measurement, which differ from test to test, are similar to the plus-or-minus margins of error accompanying most opinion polls" (ACSD Unraveling Reliability, Popham). What this states is that, the standard error of measurement controls the area of achievable points on different chapters on the assessments. What this means is that if a student does take either test again, he or she can easily get a different score in that given area again. Behind closed doors, the reliability of the SAT and ACT scores affects and influences more than just the students. Both the SAT and ACT are tests that decides whether an university will strive or fail to operate, but as well determine the amount of funds an university will receive from the federal government. A retired collegiate professor, Dr. Audrey Edawards experienced this when she a visited a public high school and observed some of the struggles the teachers faced. Dr. Edwards stated, "A single test score cannot

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