Report Says Test Scores Should Be Less Important in College Admissions

SAT Score Role in College Admission

Your SAT score is one of the factors taken into consideration when a college admission officer reviews your college application. The SAT score (or ACT score) is typically used as one of the main determining factors because the numeric value of a test score offers a more objective way to compare candidates. All of the other factors are subjective items-- extra curricular activities, community service, work experience and more.

It is very true that using SATs as the standard for measuring studets success in colleges is not fair to all applicants especially since the wealthy applicants tend to do better in such test (more resources available to them) I strongly beleive that AP tests and the IB should be used to determine a candidate's success in college instead of SATs. A students success cannot be determined by ONE TEST! The ivy league colleges should take the iniciative and place more stress on the importance of IB and APs. If a student applying to Havard for instance gets a minimum of grade 6 out of 7 points(relative to an A but carries more weight) in all her IB subjects but gets a 1700 in the SAT where does a fate lie?

Testing

Testing is not the answer. All it does is give the "teacher" a basis for determining a grade. And, we all know that grading and grades are circumspect. Rather, a more true measure of learning is when the learner (i.e., the "student" using traditional and aniquated terminology and stereotyping) wants to know more about a topic or issue. This expression of desire for more is an affirmation that the learner has mastered current concepts and material and now wants to move on. In this scenario no test nor grade is necessary. What should be necessary is for the provider (i.e., the "teacher") to have the next level or dimension of concepts and materials readily available to present and apply once the learner expresses the desire to move on.

What we need is a system that is designed to cater to this basal learning behavior and can be applied in real time. Take a look at the definitive treatment "Education in America -- What's to Be Done?" developed by Trigon-International. This commission report presents an end-to-end solution that is actionable and affordable.

THE SAT.

IAM 50 YEARS OLD AND i AM RENEWING MY JOB SITUATION, BECAUSE OF A STROKE. GOD IS HELPING ME TO BE ABLE TO GET MY 4 YEAR DEGREE IN MATH EDUCATION. TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!

Standard Test

I just don't understand why lots of people make a big deal about these standard test, such as SAT. These are just "standard" test and nothing really fancy and hard about them. These are the tests simply testing what you learned from your high school text books. Nothing more. As long as you listened in your classroom, did your homework, and understood your text books, after a little pareparation, you should get a decent test score. As a matter of fact, comparing to the college entrance exames in other countries, the standard of our "standard tests" is low.

Both my children are in college now. I don't think they are particularly smarter than their peers and we did not spent any money for them to go to those test prep places. they both scored very well in these standard tests. They just worked hard and did their homework well when they were in high school, and prepared themselves for the tests by practicing with a few SAT practice books from a used-book store.

Colleges are for people to get real education and not for people to have a new party place. Therefore, standard tests of even a higher standard than we have now are absolutely necessary to make sure only those people, who are well-prepared and who really want to learn, can get into a college of their choice.

Disagree With standardized testing

From the moment I entered elementary school I was introduced to the method of standardized testing, but it wasn't brought to my attention until high school; that freshmen year leading up to senior standardized testing would influence the path for the rest of my life. Sure for those of you able to take tests without difficulty and hesitation, it may be a walk in the park, but perhaps those of you with this useful resource should step into someone else's shoes to experience something new.

Through these articles I've noticed the arrogance and various forms of character, following the words written by people with one- sided views regarding standardized testing, and how it plays a vital role in college acceptance success. I'm not going prolong this comment, but just want to mention how it may be somewhat easy for people to take a test and ace it with no problem at all, but it's evident there needs to be a great amount of character examined behind these straight laced test scores, and talent hiding behind a rubric of set points.

Fair Evaluation?

To preface: I am a 21-year old senior at Stanford University.

Having grown up in an upper-middle class suburban town, I will concede that being in the fortunate position to be able to afford to pay for standardized test prep does give the wealthy SOME unfair advantage over the non-wealthy when it comes to using SAT/ACT tests for college admission criteria. However, at Stanford, there are many, many students whose parents make little enough not to be able to afford test prep material, yet these students still scored well enough on these tests to get into Stanford. If you can tell me how admissions officers should handle natural discrepancies in intelligence then maybe Darwin has some competition.

Overall, I am very frustrated by people that complain that they are very smart and well-qualified for college but standardized test scores are holding them back. The SAT and ACT are real tests. You have to know things (grammar, formulas, etc...) and know how to do things (problem-solve, read well, write well, etc...) in order to do well on these tests. Frankly, these tests are full of questions, and if you get these questions wrong, then you really don't know the material the questions are assessing. I'm sorry, but that's just too bad.

In the real-world, employers look at what you have accomplished and what are your marketable skills. If you don't have any, then you don't deserve the job, correct? If you can't read, write, or do math to the standard that a college expects, then you don't deserve to go there. It's a simple parallel.

At this point you are probably angry at me, frustrated by how I sit atop my 'top-5-university-education' pedestal and insult the people who aren't at my level. Sorry, but you're mistaken. More than 50% of my high school went to public schools like Univ. of Maryland, Indiana U., Towson Univ., or even community college. I come from a high school where (given house prices) no family's net worth is less than a million dollars. We could obviously have all afforded extra test prep, yet all of my peers really do seem to be fine at our respective collegiate institutions, whether 'Ivy-esque' or '2nd-tier'.

A lesson I learned early in life is to 'make it happen'. I have the power to dictate the course of my life, and if I miss an opportunity that doesn't come knocking again, I have to live with it. Kaplan sells a test prep book for $40 that guarantees higher scores. If you are so insulted by being held to a 'high' standard for the SAT, then maybe the time and money you had allocated to see 4 movies in theaters this season could be better spent, eh?

Lastly, even if you think that 'movie vs. test prep' logic is bogus, answer me this: What does the SAT test? Reading, writing, and math. Maybe if you still don't want to pay for test prep you should go back and re-do your algebra problem sets and start reading the newspaper everyday. It'll be just as effective, I promise.

Colleges Should Review Their Admissions Test Requirements

In 2nd grade my daughter started falling behind in reading fluency & comprehension. We immediately addressed the problems and continued working with her to bring her reading up to grade level, but she has always been at least 6 months behind her peers. This affected her test taking skills dramatically. This problem followed her into high school, but fortunately she attended a school that promoted project based learning. Her grades were average, but she built confidence in her abilities. Until the ACT. Still behind in reading abilities and lacking in test skills, the ACT basically told her and every school to which she applied that she wasn't worthy enough for admission. Applying to community college wasn't much better because though she was admitted, she had to take a "placement" test. These tests pidgeon-holed her into what she refers to as the "dummy class" in English where they are teaching how to write a paragraph! Bringing evidence of capable and interesting writing did no good because "the test" determined your place in the college world. Thousands of students across the country are treated to extraordinary teachers in elementary and high schools who are willing to adapt lessons, and offer alternative assessment so that they may succeed. Then those same students run up against the brick wall of "The Test" and college becomes the insurmountable challenge. For years the conferences that I have attended have promoted, problem or project based learning, alternative assessment, differentiated learning, etc. for elementary & high school students. Perhaps those conferences are misdirected. They should be required professional development for college admissions officers, professors, teaching assistants, and any other instructor of college level students. Colleges need to be on the same page as the rest of education community.

SAT >>> ACT >>> GPA

I am definitely of the opinion that standardized tests, especially the SAT, are a better judgment of qualification for a college.

I have what sounds like a similar problem to Jennifer of PAs son. Something called fine motor developmental delay, where I have to take tests separate from others (English: can't write well for long periods of time). My outcomes however, are the opposite. I score, what I consider to be well on standardized tests (1310/1960 SAT, 28 ACT) but have what I consider to be a low GPA (3.4), having ended most of my classes with borderline grades.

From my experience, SAT, ACT, and GPA are barometers for 3 different things

-SAT measures your natural intelligence (more logic-based ?s)

-ACT measures your study skills (more computational, concrete ?s, formulas you can study)

-GPA measures your work ethic (Doing busywork, choosing course load, etc)

In my opinion, the smartest people should be accepted to prestigious schools, not those who pile on stressful amounts of APs, Extracurriculars, etc to look good, studying and practicing into the night.

Also, socioeconomic class should have nothing to do with how hard well you do on a test, or in school.

College Board judging academic competence?

As far as the College Board being charged with judging the academic competence of high school students, journalists might also want to look into the College Board's role in scoring and judging the annual Siemens Science competition; especially their role in the 2004 debacle and the possibility that politics might have played a role in last year’s “All Girls Won” contest. It seems to me that the the winners of this competition may be chosen as much for their ‘telegenic’ potential and ability to attract lots of free press coverage, as much as they are for their actual scientific achievements. Also, isn’t this contest somewhat biased in favor of well-connected and affluent students, who have access to university mentors and good university facilities?