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Arguments Against Standardized Testing

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For years, colleges have used standardized testing to determine admissions and scholarships. Colleges should choose another form of examination for students, because the SAT’s are inaccurate measurement of someone’s intelligence. It is a four to five hour timed test that students could prepare for, for months and still come out with a bad score. Some students are not good test takers and this reflects poorly on them. Admissions and scholarships should not weigh on SAT scores so heavily because they don’t determine how strong of a student you are.
The SAT’s are not a structurally sound assessment to be used for college admissions. In Kohn’s piece he states, “Standardized tests tend to measure the temporary acquisition of facts and skills, including the skill of test taking itself, more than genuine understanding” (Kohn 601). The standardized tests that are supposed to measure intelligence, actually measure a student’s ability to take a test. Everybody has a different level of intellect, especially in many …show more content…

More often than not, children who fail these tests can not afford necessary materials to be able to get a quality educations. Like Kohn said, “guess who can afford better test preparation” (Kohn 601), just like poor families, there are poorly funded schools that also can not afford to give the students the education they need. These are obstacles that are frequently looked over by college admission counselors. “ The more that poor children fill in worksheets (in an effort to raise their test scores) the further they fall behind affluent kids who are more likely to get lessons that help them understand ideas” (Kohn 601). Even if there is a good effort to get these students prepared for the tests, it results in being behind on their schoolwork. It is a lose-lose situation for these

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According to Addie Reynolds with Ray-Pec now, Standardized tests take a “big toll” on students' “mental health”. Many students have sleeping problems, get headaches, and have attendance issues. Students' mental health could already be pretty bad, they don't need something to make it even worse. Many colleges/universities do not require Standardized Tests as they did before. SATs are basically an optional test now.

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1304 Words | 6 Pages

In 1942, the SAT was used for all applicants. “In 1948, the SAT was becoming the basic college admission device for millions” (“A Brief History of the SAT”). 80% of schools still require a standardized test score for acceptance (Blaf). However, this percentage is going down and as it does colleges will rely more a grades, which are more precise calculations of

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1776 Words | 8 Pages

Standardized Testing: Making College Admissions “Fair” Every year , the daunting prospect of undergoing standardized testing brings anxiety to thousands of high school students, and for good reason: a student’s performance on standardized college admission exams - most importantly, the ACT and SAT - is a major determinant in deciding where they will go to college. For decades, such standardized tests have been universally accepted as part of the admissions process: proponents argue, as Syverson (2007) explains, that such tests are the only way of standardizing college admissions when students from different schools have such widely varying profiles. However, in the past several decades a growing anti-testing movement has begun to poke holes

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1241 Words | 5 Pages

SATS and ACTS have been used for numerous years as a way to gauge a student’s academic success while in college. Students have the choice which test they would prefer to take and most colleges do not prefer one test over the other. There are a few key differences between the SAT and ACT, which may make one test more suitable than the other for those taking the tests. Many studies have proven that the SAT and ACT are not the best judge of future success, and that colleges should focus their applications more on past grades and accomplishments to decide which students should be accepted to their university. SATs and ACTs are not an effective measure of college readiness and future academic success.

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1026 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout the college admission process, one indicator of admittance stands above all, the SAT. The SAT stands for the Scholastic Achievement Test, which serves as the standard of assessment for colleges throughout the United States. Known for its pervasiveness, the SAT provides a comparative standard for students’ abilities. Although the SAT provides such a benefit, the SAT unexpectedly poses as a problem for college admission officers throughout the nation due to its inherent negative aspects, which stir a controversy among the nation. The question arises, should we keep using the SAT for admitting students into college?

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1562 Words | 7 Pages

Should colleges put less emphasis on standardized tests? Standardized testing is something that all high school students rave about and is a hot topic among many members of the College Admission Boards and critics alike. Standardized testing has been in use since the mid 1800’s, and colleges continue to accept thousands of high-school students into their schools based on their standardized testing scores(Pro/Con). Some think the emphasis on SAT scores is the correct approach for admission processes with a view that standardized aptitude test results and their relative scoring provide an insight into the relative knowledge and/or skills of a student.

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610 Words | 3 Pages

Have you ever wondered if you could just bypass the ACT/SAT and go straight to college? There are many other high schoolers thinking the same. Many students dread taking the ACT/SAT but if we got rid of it you would not be able to see which college is best for you based on how you scored. Many colleges across the world have been toying with the idea of not using tests like the ACT and SAT as part of the admission process. Colleges should not stop using standardized tests as part of the admission process because they have been using them for many decades, they are available to any student worldwide no matter the economic area the student or their family is in, and they allow the student to show what they learned in high school.

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895 Words | 4 Pages

Standardized tests are very common in today’s modern society. They are used as a tool to measure a person’s performance and indicate how their estimated performance will be in a college class. Every year hundreds of students take the ACT or SAT in order to get accepted into their college of choice and to receive scholarships, but they fail to see the problems with these standardized tests. As more and more people take these tests, the national average score falls causing doubt in the extremely important system. This is leading people to question whether or not the ACT and SATs are accomplishing what they were created to do.

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890 Words | 4 Pages

More populated schools that are in big cities have students that can pay for a tutor if they feel that they are falling behind in class. In the smaller or poorer schools can’t do that because nor the families or the school has enough money to pay for the tutors. This shows that the Standardized Tests are bad for small schools and

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1027 Words | 5 Pages

The reason behind its creation is because of the passing of the “No Child Left Behind Act”; which was created to “highlight the concern that the American Education system was missing compared to its other international competitors by raising standards, increasing accountability, and making sure all kids, regardless of background, had access to a high-level of education” (Legal Information Institute 2001). The issue with standardized testing is that it harms communities, increases anxiety and stress levels, perpetuates inequality, and is a bad predictor of future success by creating inequality, increasing stress levels, and by limiting new academic methods. Standardized tests can often help and worsen the differences in social and economic status. This is because students from wealthy families typically have better access to better resources for preparing for standardized tests, which results in them scoring higher on these tests and perpetuating the cycle of

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704 Words | 3 Pages

Standardized tests shouldn’t be given to students to measure their intelligence. Although, many have said that tests have been proven to show a student’s future Performance in higher education, military, and work force. What they may need to consider that the tests doesn’t have all those standards that would make them eligible. Also, even in higher education they still have to teach you what you don’t know. The same things on the standardized tests aren’t always what students learn in class.

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1053 Words | 5 Pages

They suggest that students spend a lot of time stressing over the SAT/ACT when they could be focusing their energy on more important academic and social activities that could benefit them in the future. Lastly, those opposed to academic success as the main determining factor, believes that testing inhibits any sort of creative or unconventional thinking. This is important because this type of skill needed in college and in the

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1529 Words | 7 Pages

The SAT is a test that is used to determine if a school will accept the student in the college or not. It may be unfair to base on a single test but some may say it is necessary to determine a student’s

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1242 Words | 5 Pages

Colleges should not use standardized testing scores as a factor in college admission, due to their questionable validity and the debate on whether or not a single nationwide test should determine a student's future. SAT scores are one of the main factors that drive admissions decisions. To predict the successfulness or likelihood of a college student's retention it does not require the skills used to take the SATs (www.eduventures.com). An SAT does not have the ability to demonstrate a

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468 Words | 2 Pages

Imagine the difference in time between one day and 4 years; there's no doubt it is drastic. But most colleges around the U.S, take standardized test scores as much into account as a student's whole academic career as a high schooler. A standardized test score that only covers 3 topics and can easily be increased with expensive tutoring. Because of the limited range of topics covered and unfairness to lower-income families, standardized testing should not be as important as other factors, such as GPA and participation extracurricular activities.

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