Faceoff: Standardized Tests
Should standardized test scores be used to determine college admission?
Design by Manha Survery and Isha Patel
Yes
Isha Patel, Staff Writer
Colleges need a clear, consistent way to compare students, and standardized tests provide it. They should remain part of college admissions because they provide fair, objective information that grades alone cannot. High school grades depend on factors such as teachers and resources, whereas exams like the SAT measure the same skills across the nation. The SAT is a nationally administered exam that measures skills in math, reading, and writing, giving colleges a consistent way to compare students from different schools. While no test is perfect, exams like the SAT help balance out differences in grading systems and rigor across the country.
Standardized tests actually predict how students will do once they reach college. A study by Opportunity Insights explained that “Test scores are highly predictive of academic performance in college, even conditional on high school grades” and found that students with higher SAT/ACT scores had “first-year GPAs about 0.43 grade-points higher” than peers with similar GPAs but lower test scores. Therefore, these tests are vital to colleges because they need a reliable way to spot students who will thrive once they get to their college campus.
Test scores help admissions officers compare students from schools that vary in rigor and grading. Not every high school has the same expectations or opportunities, like learning materials, the number of AP classes available, and more. According to a standardized test, similar to the SAT, research showed that ACT standardized test scores, used in conjunction with high school GPA, provide the best prediction of first-year college performance. They also found that students who needed extra support through test scores were “more likely to persist into their second year,” demonstrating that the tests can help colleges identify obstacles and support students early on.
Even top universities are bringing back testing requirements, which shows how valuable they find this data. Harvard University recently announced that it will again require either SAT or ACT scores starting with the Class of 2029. Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Hopi Hoekstra stated that test scores provide particularly helpful information for identifying students from less-resourced backgrounds who would do well at Harvard and who a test-optional system might otherwise overlook. If the most selective and prestigious colleges in the world believe tests help them find hidden talent, it says a lot about the importance of these factors.
Of course, tests like these have flaws, one example being unequal access to prep materials. However, that does not mean that removing them completely is the right solution. We can fix the testing process in other ways. For example, in an article by the Houston Chronicle, Alief ISD explains their approach, in which they give every high school student free weekly SAT prep during the school day, which makes sure everyone gets the same support, no matter their background. Schools and states could offer free or subsidized prep resources, multiple free test dates, accommodations, and better-designed questions that reduce possible bias.
In the end, standardized tests should remain a part of college admissions. They demonstrate many other factors that go beyond just school grades, especially when schools differ so much in their amount of resources, grading standards, and class opportunities. With the right improvements, keeping the SAT will help colleges make smarter, more reliable decisions about who will succeed, not just who has the most polished and flashiest application.
No
Manha Survery, Editor-In-Chief
There is a test that many students consider the test of doom and despair. The SAT. It consists of a reading and math section, each of which has two sections. It is a total of 98 questions, and it takes a little over 2 hours, with a ten-minute break in the middle. The SAT used to stand for "scholarly aptitude test", and after getting changed multiple times, it now stands for nothing. The College Board states on its website, "The acronym SAT no longer stands for anything but is the actual name of the test."
Colleges take a student's SAT score into account as they admit the student into the school. Some schools take it into account more heavily than others, and some schools, like those in the University system of California (UCs), do not want students' SAT scores at all. Most schools during COVID had decided not to take SAT scores for the time being, but as the pandemic came to an end, the inclusion of the SAT in admissions decisions returned. It should not have.
The SAT has been around for almost 100 years, so the biggest reason that it should not have made a comeback after COVID is that it is simply outdated. Are all the other tests we took and the four years in high school, along with our other activities, not enough? In high school, students end their four years with grades, extracurriculars, essays, and other information to submit to colleges. The qualifications presented through these factors are surely enough to determine admission, as the UCs have presented.
An article by the Harvard School of Education states 80% of colleges do not require standardized test scores. This is progress in the sense that many schools allow students to apply test-optional, meaning that they can choose if they want to submit their test scores or not. But even if a school does not require an SAT score, allowing students to submit their SAT scores means that most students feel obligated to do it. Students who are not good exam-takers, can not pay for a tutor, or do not have English as their first language are at a disadvantage. There are accommodations for certain learning disabilities and for people who do not have English as a first language, but if so many schools are test-optional, why not get rid of the test completely? Furthermore, some students may not know they have a learning disability, and to get these accommodations, a student must submit documentation to the college board.
Not to mention, the SAT is a moneymaking scheme of the admissions process. The test costs a sizable amount of money overall, as students at many times have to pay to take it and submit scores for it.
Some may say that the SAT is a good part of the admissions process as it provides a baseline, but this is not exactly true. This baseline starts to look blurry when you think about external factors of the test itself. Such as the fact that some students receive extensive tutoring, and some students may have learning disabilities they are unaware of.
In summary, the SAT should not be a component of the admissions process anymore, as it is outdated and unnecessary in this day and age. The test faded away during the pandemic and should have never made a comeback. New developments are made, such as more tutoring access and accommodations, but it is time to get rid of the test completely. There are enough other factors colleges can use to determine a student's admittance into a school. After all, it doesn't even stand for anything.
