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The Pros And Cons Of The SAT Standards

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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.

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