Are Standardize Tests Sufficient? Essay, Research Paper

“Anyone involved in education should be concerned about how overemphasis on the SAT is distorting educational priorities and practices, how the test is perceived by many as unfair, and how it can have a devastating impact on the self-esteem and aspirations of young students,” said University of California President Richard C. Atkinson in a speech he gives to the American Council on Education in Washington, D.C.

I really didn’t enjoy taking the SATs. SAT I cannot represent the individual knowledge of one particular test-taker, because the tests have been dissected in many prep-classes, designed to improve a student’s score. However, these classes can be very expensive and give students who can afford the classes an unfair advantage. I scored well, but I hated all the drills to prepare; hated getting up early for it and hated being assigned to a testing site, which is far away from where I live. Inside the testing room, invigilators spend half an hour going through the forms and repeating basic test instructions and rules that we already know. One student raised his hand for a question, ?sh ? no questions allowed until the examiner comes around!? one invigilator answered without caring whether it was an emergency or not.

While you can take the test as many times as you want, to do so is costly, and often, I think scores no longer represent students’ test-taking skills more than students’ knowledge. Moreover, common standardized tests like the SAT I tests students in only two subject areas, math and verbal. Not enough! Students spend immeasurable amounts of money yearly taking preparatory classes for a test that does not really cover the content covered in schools, but does determine whether or not a student will get into a fine academic institution. The tests do not account for students who may be very smart, but can’t perform well when being constrained by time. We should consider testing students on a broader range of topics, lending more insight to a student’s versatility.

To base one student’s potential solely based on one standardized test is both wrong and lazy. Colleges should be willing to examine applicants closely. They need to understand that if a high school senior has a 4.0 GPA and happened to get a 1050 on their SAT, they’re not necessarily incapable of learning. Looking at both class rank and GPA provides a more balanced picture, hence it would increase the diversity of students entering college.

Doing away with SAT scores could increase opportunities for those students who do not score well on formal tests to get into colleges, that they would not have normally.

The University of California regents are in the process of trying to decide whether or not to drop the SAT as an admission requirement. Atkinson, whose field of expertise is testing and cognitive science, is putting his support behind the idea of doing away with the test as a gauge of whether or not students should be able to get into one of California’s state colleges.

Atkinson feels the universities should adopt a more “holistic” way of judging incoming students. The idea comes from the long-standing belief that the SAT is unfair to minority students. Right now, about 90 percent of the nation’s colleges use the SAT as a means to make admissions decisions, and there has been a consistent gap between the scores of white and Asian students and those of Blacks and Latinos.

Atkinson may be correct on one side. I agree with him that A student could be the brightest in his or her class and not be able to perform up to standard on the day they’re to take the test. Would it be fair, then, to exclude them from admission to a prestigious university or from scholarships because they were having a bad day? However, completely removal of standardized testing is like dropping grades.

Using SAT as example once more. Instead of getting rid of the SAT entirely, the test itself should be reformed. Instead of trying to sweep the SAT under the table, the UC Regents should lead an effort to make the SAT better. Also, using other methods such as essays, or a face-to-face interview would help neutralize the side effect of standardized tests. If we feel the standard testing system is broken, and it is, they should make an effort to fix it, not forget it.

In general, there is a need for a national standardized test. The switch to this new standardized testing method would have to be coupled with patience from students and university administrators. For instance, should have a standardized test that provides them an opportunity to show their strengths. There are many other ways of giving a test, but what’s important is what the score really reveals, one’s test-skills or one’s knowledge.