ipl-logo

The Pros And Cons Of The SAT Standards

1336 Words6 Pages

Most students in the United States are being intellectually scored based on a three-hour test that determines their future for further education; this system is infamously known as the SAT. The SAT and ACT not only require a child to sit in a classroom for hours writing and answering questions, it requires the mental strength of a genius to score a perfect grade. These assessments are thought to determine students academic success on a 0-1600 and 1-36 point scale. More and more colleges and universities are becoming test optional meaning that they do not require applicants to attach their test scores with their application. Over eight hundred public and private colleges are now test optional. Some students are spending hundreds of dollars …show more content…

For example, supporters of these test believe that an honors english class taken on the east coast at a small high school is different than one taken on the west coast at a big school. The curriculum and grading may be different from school to school. A 4.0 at one school may be easier to achieve than at another, thus making the SAT a good way to even the playing ground. Although students grade point averages may not be based off of the same criteria, one thing is the same. Two students from different schools could take the same level classes and do the same amount of extracurriculars but one may have a lower test score than the other due to the fact they came from different income households. Hypothetically, one of the students is wealthier than the other making it easier to practice and prepare for the SAT. Both students worked equally as hard but just because one is able to afford tutoring does not mean he or she should get accepted over a student with identical criteria. The SAT limits students from attending top schools. Another argument test supporters make is that standardized testing makes for good preparation for test in the future. Whether it may be the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, or MCAT, advocates believe that it is good preparation for these big exams graduates must take to earn their degree. Preparing for tests such as the SAT and ACT give students better test preparation strategies to use in the future. Although standardized testing may prepare students for these test, not all majors require these exams. Throughout four years of high school and four plus years of college education, students learn study strategies to use to prepare for these graduate tests. After years of college or graduate school, a student is very unlikely to remember the study skills from a high school exam.

Show More
Related

Summary Of No The SAT Is Not Required By Justin Peligri

1398 Words | 6 Pages

Over time, the SAT’s format has changed to better measure a student’s ability and potential. Excessive stress is put on students to do well on the SAT’s, and causes them unnecessary strain. As college admissions become more and more competitive, the need for higher test scores has increased, despite fatal flaws in the SAT test itself. Although the SAT is used by thousands of colleges and taken by millions of students, many students' scores do not reflect their true abilities, and therefore the SAT test is useless.

Read More

Argumentative Essay On ACT And SAT Scores

729 Words | 3 Pages

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).

Read More

Unfair Standardized Testing

1776 Words | 8 Pages

This is certainly an important factor: because high schools have differing grade scales, plus some amount of grade deflation or inflation, having a nationally consistent test is useful. However, while the SAT may be standardized, it is far from equitable. It has been found to have significant bias, particularly income-wise: as Biamonte (2013) found, the difference in average SAT scores between the lowest and highest income groups is nearly 130 points per section, adding up to a hefty difference across the test’s three sections. This disparity is partially explained by the use of aforementioned coaching methods; test prep classes and tutoring services are often pricey, a score-boosting luxury only available to those in higher income brackets.

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of The SAT

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.

Read More

Argumentative Essay: Should The SAT Get Paid?

1026 Words | 5 Pages

While the argument presents a great benefit for colleges across the united states, the testing scores fail to do justice to students because the scores do not represent the actual skills that the students need to succeed in college. To clarify, the SAT, particularly in the math section, tests students by how quick they can substitute an answer choice for a variable in the problem and not by how the students can critically think about a solution for a question. Therefore, the SAT fails as a proper indicator of skills necessary for success in college. In addition, this disadvantage in sat testing overwhelms the benefits that sat testing

Read More

World War 1 Causes And Effects

1360 Words | 6 Pages

World war I also known as “The Great War” was one of the most brutal wars in U.S history. What made the war so brutal was horrible combinations of acquainted militaries using modern technology. This war was the first ever war to use airplanes, tanks, gas, all these led to thousands of people getting killed. World War I had many cause that started this gruesome war. The first warfare was an instantaneous results of these four main causes, however it had been triggered by the assassination of the Austrian prince Francis Ferdinand and his woman.

Read More

Pros And Cons Of The Fairness Of Standardized Testing Act

1399 Words | 6 Pages

Standardize test are not flawless instruments for precisely pinpointing what level of prior knowledge and learning a student has acquired without first considering other elements that may or may not be connected to what was cultivated. Information on admission test should correlate with educational experiences acquired from school and home; however, that is not always the case considering: (1) socioeconomic background ;( 2) overall mental and physical health ;( 3) sampling variability from other assessments; (4) unidentified error variance; and (5) motivation and drive. These are just some of the essential components require in order to proclaim the SAT and other forms of assessments as sole heir to the thrown of admissions in terms of validity, reliability and

Read More

Essay Against Standardized Testing

1229 Words | 5 Pages

The tests only ask for knowledge or facts that the student can barely recall and when taking these tests they are taken on a school day and they take 2-3 hours to complete. Standardized testing began in the 1920s to test students ability but was renamed to Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) (Livia). The American College Testing (ACT) and the SAT are both used in the United States for college admission. However Swope and Miner believe that, “Standardized tests will never answer the questions of what our children need to learn to be leaders and informed citizens in a multicultural, ever-changing world” (Cole, Hulley and Quarles 19).

Read More

Arguments Against Standardized Testing

1129 Words | 5 Pages

Despite its respectable attempt, it is an incredibly flawed method. Standardized tests like the SAT serve one purpose: to compare every student on the same scale on a generic series of questions in order to predict how well a student will perform in college. It disregards a student’s past academic achievements, as well as many other factors that will weigh into a student’s performance. According to Gerald Bracey, a writer from Washington Post as well as a critic of the national education policy, a student’s execution in college cannot be determined by a standardized test because these tests do not assess one’s “creativity, critical thinking, resilience, motivation… [or] self-discipline,” (Strauss,

Read More

Standardized Testing Research Paper

895 Words | 4 Pages

Standardized tests do not work because of inaccuracy, bias, and student misunderstanding. The ACT and SAT tests are used as college entrance exams all over the US. Most schools require you to take one or both of these tests and get a minimum score in order to be accepted to that school. The SAT and ACT have been proven to be fairly accurate at predicting a student’s average performance for their freshman year in college.

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of Standardized Test Scores

1793 Words | 8 Pages

Students that take the SAT/ACT are young, nervous and anxiety ridden. They know this test determines their future, and that scares them (Raines). There is definitely too much weight on standardized test scores, but some families are able to handle it with test preparation. Because there is so much stress on the SAT/ACT, there is now an industry of test training that takes time and money out of the lives of students and their families (Tiefenthaler 25). This time could be going towards studying for classes and doing well in school, but because students are so worried about their test scores, preparation for the tests are a large part of many people’s lives.

Read More

ACT Vs SAT Essay

1888 Words | 8 Pages

The ACT stands for American College Testing; the test measures the students’ abilities to preform well on four subjects: Math, Reading, Science, and English. Similarly, the SAT stands for Scholastic Aptitude Test; it measures students’ abilities to perform well Reading, English, and Math. However, how accurately do these tests measure student’s performance in college? Are they good predictors of student’s future? Some researchers argue that these assessments do not measure the capability of a student.

Read More

Argumentative Essay: SAT Vs. SAT In Schools

1338 Words | 6 Pages

No matter the college one chooses to attend, a national standardized test is required for entrance into most universities. The two tests that are issued to high school students across the country are the SAT and the ACT. For many years, the SAT was considered the “gold standard test” (Lewin). However, in recent years, a stark change appears to be coming to the table. The ACT is being taken far more frequently than the SAT.

Read More

Standardized Testing Argumentative Essay

589 Words | 3 Pages

There are two standardized tests that are popular in America, the ACT and the SAT, both focusing on testing different areas of the brain, these are the tests that help to determine a student’s college career. The ACT, American College Testing, was developed in 1959 a linguist and college professor. The ACT is on a grading scale of 0-36 with 215 total questions and testing time is four hours. The test is geared towards accumulative knowledge, bringing up topics from fifth grade to a student’s junior year in high school. The ACT is more prevalent if a student is applying to schools in the south and midwest, however it can be put on any college application.

Read More

Persuasive Essay On SAT Testing

613 Words | 3 Pages

The SAT Test finds its roots back to the early 1940's when Henry Chauncey, an assistant dean at Harvard, convinced the College Board into using the Sat as a uniform test. Since then this exam has had numerous changes. Interestingly this exam, during its early years, aimed at eliminating bias between applicants belonging to different social and economic backgrounds. Today, however, the scenario is quite different. On an average, over two million US students, and thousands of students from different parts of the world take the SAT to seek admission in the top notch colleges in the US.

Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of The SAT Standards

Related Topics

Open Document