SAT/ACT: Who benefits?

Should the SAT and ACT exam be eliminated in lieu of a college/university based exam?

Tests Vs College

When kids think of Colleges and scholarships they immediately think about the SATs and the ACT exams. Both tests are examinations of the student’s test taking ability and knowledge in select subjects that a college would find most “appealing”. The problem with the tests is not only the stress it puts on students but also the lack of actual knowledge. For example the two tests are in complete contrast to each other.

The SATs is the most commonly known test in New York (me being a new York student) and it is a standardized test, that is meant to determine our knowledge in Math, Science and Writing. However, the knowledge isn’t solely in what we have been learning throughout our high school career but our actual test taking ability. I personally see a huge flaw in this process. The flaw is; a lot of students are nervous people. They get extremely nervous about tests, especially the SATs. They go into this room thinking that if they don’t score high on the SATs they won’t get into the college of their choice, will not be able to afford to go to school and will never be able to fulfill their dreams. The idea for the SATs is also a strange idea. It allows people who are good at test taking to arrive at schools that they may not have the grades for, but disallows the person who is an excellent student but an average test taker.

The other major test is the ACTs test. A test that is used to examine a students’ knowledge on all 4 years of his or her career. Questions from Biology, Earth Science, Chemistry, Algebra etc are seen on this test. This test does seem to be more effective for analyzing a student’s learning capability but it is also just a test of memorization and analytical questions. Some colleges may look for these skills in a student but sometimes it is far from the point. Some questions in certain sciences may not affect someone who is going for a degree in something completely unrelated to science.

Finally there is a suggestion that may allow colleges more help and less stress on students. Colleges may forget about tests all together (unlikely) or colleges may allow specific tests for made and for their college alone. Problems may arise such as location of the test, or the grading process. However, there is always a simple solution. A lot of college courses of today allow test taking online, with a set time limit and certain rules. Since the college already allows test taking online, why not an aptitude test online that allows the college to view possible candidates for their school? I personally have talked with students about the idea and most seem to like the possibility of specific tests for the colleges of their choosing. Some on the other hand asked the question of “what happens if we apply to a lot of colleges”. This seems to be an odd statement. People who want acceptance into one or two specific schools will have a high chance if they were to take that specific college’s aptitude test two to three times than the SATs or ACTs multiple times.

In conclusion it seems that many colleges are starting to pull away from the SAT scores and the ACT scores because they see the stress it puts on a student and the lack of accuracy in the scores. Also, the idea of specific tests for colleges is a possibility but completely optional. Obviously Ivy League schools still look at the SAT scores, but this is where I pose my question. Wouldn’t it be easier if Harvard or Cornell wrote up their own test, and made it as difficult as they deemed necessary? That their test would be up to par with their own skills and abilities?

Matthew L Espejo

Grade 11