SAT: So Much More Than a Number

Many high schoolers are now headed off to take one of the most stressful tests that determines their future: the SAT and the ACT. Hearing my sister, a neuroscience major at Elon University, talk about a study she came across with my dad that shows the SAT and the ACT don’t particularly show how much students know and don’t know. Because I could not find the exact study, I found this article (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/what-do-sat-act-scores-really-mean/2012/09/24/33e341c0-0675-11e2-afff-d6c7f20a83bf_blog.html) The US had a bad year for SAT and ACT scores in 2011 and 2012 because scores have greatly declined. Bob Schaeffer, from the  public education director of FairTest, or the National Center for Fair & Open Testing states that, “High school grades — even with all the variety between schools and courses — are better predictors of a teenager's performance in higher education, particularly the likelihood of graduation.” The stress of getting two numbers that define where you will spend the rest of your academic carrier is a scary thought, and in his opinion does not truly reflect the student. “At a minimum, we are failing to make the progress promised by high-stakes testing advocates either in terms of improving overall readiness for college/careers or in closing long-standing test score gaps between racial groups,” says Schaeffer.

I think if more studies like this were released, it would change how college admissions officers think of each student. I think it is very important that this topic is researched thoroughly because making a change to a test high schoolers think define the rest of their lives would be extremely significant and helpful. 

 

Image: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/SAT_logo.gif