Why Is Standardized Testing Important In College

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If one plans to attend college that person must first take the ACT, a standardized test. The ACT is a college acceptance test, and it also evaluates how well a student might do as a first year college student. Some feel that these tests are accurate. Others feel the tests are unfair and do not do what they are meant to do. Many colleges require a student to give an ACT score upon applying to their institution. This should not be allowed. Colleges should find other ways to evaluate what students are capable of doing academically rather than making them pay to take a test for which they are not fully prepared. Many students are pushed through school. Teachers often pass an individual just so the student can get ahead. In reality, the student should have had extra attention and more one on one time with the teacher. Some students excel in high school. They have outstanding grades and high GPAs, but simply cannot take standardized tests. Some may suffer from test anxiety, and when a college is looking at test scores they do not consider the fact that the child may have test anxiety. The ACT test does not accurately measure how well a student can perform in a college environment, nor does it give an accurate measurement of a student’s knowledge. All throughout, school teachers …show more content…

The ACT cannot measure who a person is and the abilities that individual is capable of doing. “Achievement is more than test scores but also includes class participation, students' course-taking patterns, and teachers' professional development patterns. The standardized tests we all know so well don't even come close to assessing all the outcomes that students and teachers attain” (Harris). Colleges should come up with a better way to analyze a student. They could always look more at the high school GPA, take more letters of recommendation, and even take personal letter. So much more could be done besides basing admissions off of one test