In the scholarly journal “Brave New World: How Test-Optional Policies Could (And Should) Change College Admissions,” written by William C. Hiss and Valerie W. Franks, Hiss and Franks concluded that students who do not send test scores to institutions tend to perform just as well as student’s that send test scores. Hiss and Franks shares their research from a total of 37,000 students from public and private institutions that were accepted to college without sending any test scores. These students were then studied closely by their high school grade point average (GPA), cumulative college GPA, and standardized test scores. The end results explained that there was a very small difference between submitters and non-submitters. Standardized test
In today’s world, students are required to take the SAT and ACT, which open doors for some people and exclude
As students start their senior year of high school there are many changes in their life. This is the time of a student’s life when they decide what they want to do after they graduate high school. Students can decide to join the military, work, or continue their education at a college or university. For the students who continue their education they have many things to do before they finally get accepted. A common step they take is taking the The American College Test (ACT) and the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT).
Soares has split the book into three sections based on what the essay and report is about. The first section deals with the history and an overview of the SAT. Section number two deals with how schools remove bias, case studies done by universities, and new techniques that can be used in replace of standardized testing. The final section evaluates test-optional policies. Bits and pieces of this book can be used to argue that schools should not look at test scores during the admissions process.
Students in the United States go to high school, graduate with a good GPA, apply to a college of their choice, get accepted, and go through college to find a high-paying job in the future. Unfortunately, there are some students who have the grades but do not have the test scores that colleges would like to see to be admitted. The alternate route for these students that still would want to pursue a college degree would be to either retake the tests that they did not do the best on or apply to a community college, and then transfer into a college of their choice. The use of standardized testing in college admissions should be eliminated due to its biased nature, limited scope, and lack of effectiveness in predicting student success. Standardized
Pansy Harris Mrs. Shephard English IV 20 February 2018 Students Are Just a Standardized Test Score What if getting into college was not based on a state test score defining how good you did on it? Students all around are being defined as a person on how well they did on the SAT/ACT and how high their GPA was in high school. Standardized tests shouldn’t define you because maybe you are not a test taker, not everyone is good at academics, and maybe you were stressed out over these state tests because you know you would be defined on your test results.
Argument Paper 1 In our society, there is constant pressure on high schoolers to be the perfect student so that they can get into college. One of the pressures that school systems put on their students is standardized testing, such as the ACT and SAT. Standardized tests are an issue because they are quantitative measurements that ignore qualitative evaluations of students. Although there is no way to make the college application process stress-free, eliminating standardized tests will stop objectifying students and promote inclusivity.
So many students are under the impression that because they did not make a certain score on the ACT or the SAT they will not get into college, or if they do they will fail. The importance placed on high stakes test is damaging students confidence in their academic abilities and therefore reducing the amount of student’s that make it through college or even go to
Everyone is familiar with the dreaded standardized examinations that occur at the end of every single school year and are necessary for college admissions. Although these tests are not inherently value defining, society has subtly placed a disproportionate worth on the outcomes of these exams. Allowing exams to determine students’ academic worth is unproductive and potentially harmful to a young scholar’s motivation. Standardized testing is not beneficial to students because undesired results can discourage young people, misrepresent a student’s capabilities, and negatively affect future pursuits.
The students are only being taught the need-to-know basics. Thus, students are not getting the full benefits from a high school course that could possibly further prepare them for college classes or even life experiences. Finally, an impressive standardized test score does not always correlate to better college performance. “Students with good grades and modest testing did better in college than students with higher testing and lower high school grades” (Sheffer np). Some colleges tend to ignore insufficient high school grades if the student’s test scores are higher than average.
He describes this phenomenon as an “epidemic” and identifies it as a major flaw in our academic system. Especially since a lot of the time low SAT or ACT scores are not due to a lack of intelligence, but instead to test anxiety, nervousness, large amounts of pressure, or other factors. This undying desire to succeed on standardized tests is causing major problems in many teens’ lives that would be absent without the mentality that succeeding on standardized tests is a major way to gain admission into a
Standardized Tests Junior and senior year are stressful years in a student’s high school career. The final two years are filled with scholarship deadlines, job shadowing, community service, and keeping a good grade point average. On top of all of that, teachers and counselors stress the importance of achieving a high score on the ACT and SAT standardized test. If the ACT and SAT were to get removed from the requirements for University’s, then students will go above and beyond in their academic careers in high school in order to get accepted into a University.
While writing this essay on statistics and facts about SAT’s, I also threw in some of my personal opinions. Writing about they SAT’s was another form of me venting about my personal experience and just how much they affected me. Everyone has the same feeling during their senior year in high school. Most people are stressed and want to get into the college that they have been dreaming about since they first heard of it. Even though everyone is stressed about how college will be and making the new transition.
In a study published by the Center for Studies in Higher Education at the University of California, Berkeley in 2007, standardized tests scores were proven to be not the greatest predictor of success in college, but instead high school grade point averages correlated with higher grades in college (Geiser, & Santelices, 2007). In another study, finding found that SAT scores were even poorer predictors of college success in minority students (Hoffman, & Lowitzki, 2005). Once again, high school grade point averages were shown to be better predictors of good grades in college (Hoffman, & Lowitzki, 2005). While SAT’s might have been created to help predict a student’s aptitude for success in college, it is proven that they do not accomplish that
The SAT and ACT have come under scrutiny for unreliability when it comes to college preparedness. Even though there is support for the test and its ability to predict a student’s first year performance, studies from a number of other sources have found negatives that come along with these tests. From elitism to inhibiting brilliant minds, evidence shows that these two tests are more trouble than they are worth. Colleges are even beginning to react to the negatives involved with the tests. With these negatives becoming more apparent, many colleges have adopted a test optional approach, instead of basing acceptance off of test scores.
