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The effect of standardized testing
The effect of standardized testing
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The origins of the SAT were around the time of the First World War. Leading member Robert Yerkes was a part of the new IQ testing movement and used these tests to recruit members for the U.S. army. Eventually, this concept was adapted for college admissions. At Harvard, one of the presidents decided to start a scholarship program for gifted boys and this is where the SAT was used, since it measured pure intelligence, regardless of the quality of the test-taker’s high school education. The College Board decided to use the SAT as a uniform exam for all applicants. The test has changed over the years, but not completely (PBS).
Using standardized test scores such as the SAT in college admissions decisions is a heavily discussed topic. The overarching concept is different people’s access to education. In today’s society, more education yields more opportunities and eventually a higher quality of life. The main concern is determining whether standardized testing is essential or not and if it can truly define someone’s intelligence. The main
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The original goal of the SATs was to test each person’s ability to think along with ability to study and test prep. Since the exam’s focus is on thinking, the free online resources can be looked at from a good point of view as well. Khan Academy is a good example of this. It is a free online source and its mission is to provide a better educational opportunity for those who may not have access to private tutors and there have been visible increase in test scores as more online sources are becoming available. It is also useful for the admissions office to sort through the copious amounts of applications they receive each year. Since this exam is uniform, it is another positive since it is administered around the world allowing for all students regardless of where they are from to have a similar experience with the
A study conducted by Charles Rooney a member of the National Center for Fair and Open testing states that, "[More than 275 colleges and universities across the United States, acting on the belief that "test scores do not equal merit," do not use the SAT or the ACT to make admissions decisions about some part or all of their freshmen.]"
One of the main reasons that colleges have stopped looking at SAT scores is because there has recently been much speculation about the test being biased against certain groups, these groups being African Americans, Latinos, women, and those of a lower socioeconomic status. Also, some colleges are not placing an emphasis on the test anymore because the College Board has admitted that the SAT is designed so that only one half of those taking the test answer correctly. (Alfe, 2002)
The SAT, which is a national standardized test, designed to test skills, accuracy and knowledge of students has always been surrounded by controversies. It was originally created to eliminate the difference between students from different social backgrounds and provide equal level field. The test was developed by a psychologist from Princeton named Dr Carl Brigham in 1926, who also had controversial views on race, that suggested Anglo-Saxons were more intelligent than Other Races. Later in which he publicly apologized for. The SAT was designed to have impact on everyone equally, but studies have suggested the opposite. Initially the test aimed to give students from small towns in the northeast of the
"Former Bates College Dean of Admissions, William Hiss, said that intelligence is so complex, varied, and multifaceted that “no standardized testing system can be expected to capture it”(Westlund). Throughout the years standardized testing has changed its purpose and not for the better. In the late 1930s, the goal of taking standardized test was to award scholarships to "diamond in the rough" students (Westlund). Currently, the whole idea of taking the SAT or ACT is getting admitted into a college. Standardized test should not be a deciding factor of being admitted into a college.
These standardized tests are used by schools because they find that it is an easy way to test a student’s ability. However, the issue in doing this is for example, the ACT is all multiple choice. Exams such as these do not give the option to include worded feedback to show that you at least know something about the subject. Multiple choice exams have this problem, they can’t test the information that a person fully knows, it only tests whether they chose the right answer or possibly just guessed it. With only a slew of multiple choice questions it can be easy to get a “good” score or a “bad” score. That’s why these tests are flawed, the results they show don’t prove anything or really show anything for that matter.
Today students go to school from K-12 earning their education and take a standardized test during their junior or senior years (sometimes sophomore year). The SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) and other standardized test are used by colleges across the world to determine if a student is ready for college. As a result, there are some individuals that disagree with the use of standardized testi...
Standardized tests have been around for quite a while now, and are used by a large number of schools. These tests are developed by large educational companies, and because they are distributed to such a large number of schools, they’re used as a standard with which to compare students from the state in which they reside, or across the U.S. Most of these tests are fill in the bubble, multiple-choice, versus essay tests, which are more expensive for the schools to have graded. Some of the better known standardized tests are: SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test), ACT (American College Test), CAT (California Achievement Test), ITBS (Iowa Test of Basic Skills), and TAAS (Texas Assessment of Academic Skills).
SATs and ACTs are two major standardized tests. A University in California discovered that if colleges did not require SAT...
Standardized testing is a type of test usually serve to determine how well you understand a concept which is often used for placement. These types of test include questions in a form of an essay, short answers, multiple choices, or a combination of these together and are given out as early as in kindergarten. This practice has been used for so long that it has become a part of the American culture. Every year, high school juniors and seniors worldwide take the SAT or the ACT in the hope that they score high enough to get into their dream school. However, there has been a lot of ongoing debates revolving around the idea of the use of standardized testing in college admission and the whether or not they are effective in determining a student’s
Today, in the United States, standardized tests are administered every year by states to their Kindergarten-12th grade public school students. Different states place different weight on their standardized testing results where some states differ their funding based on results and annual improvement, whereas other states allow schools to simply gauge where their students are scoring relative to other schools in the state. These tests, however, are only standardized within one state. One of the few tests standardized throughout the entire country is the SAT, the Scholastic Aptitude Test, administered by College Board and required by, “More than 800 of the nation’s colleges and universities,” (Comras, 1984). This test will be the standardized test focused on in this paper. While standardized testing is that, standardized, and enables the comparison of one student to another, the meaning of the score does not equate to a test of intelligence. Therefore, while standardized testing should be applied in the education system, it needs to be more indicative of the material learned in school and should hold less weight than it currently does in the college admissions process.
Why is standardized testing part of the college admission process? Some of us might still remember taking the SAT or ACT when we were applying for college; however few of us question why we have to take such a test. Millions of dollars are spent on prep materials all so we can achieve a decent score and hope colleges will be impressed. The College Board claims a high SAT or ACT score correlates to college success which is defined as a good GPA throughout college. However if you stop and ask yourself what the SAT or ACT has to do with college success, most of us will arrive at the conclusion that these tests have almost have nothing to do with college success. Some of the questions are simply on these tests are simply ridiculous and will never
Standardized tests like the SAT and ACT are on everyone ‘s minds as the November 1st early admission deadline approaches. As a high school senior I know that it is a very stressful time. The competition is intense, we are not only competing with people from our school for a slot in a college class, but we are competing against students across the nation. The competition is between people from every background imaginable; public schools, private schools, AP, honors, and academic classes, wealthy, poor, Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, etc. Students are encouraged to continue their college education at colleges and universities throughout the country; however, many students are discouraged from doing so because of the barriers that standardized tests put up. Every high school senior has one of those secret little numbers, and according to my teacher, that number determines our ability to study and succeed in college. The College Board claims that the SAT is a standardized test, which means that all high school students across the U.S. take the same test. On the surface this assumption seems true, but a closer look reveals test scores that are determined by factors such as money, gender, test anxiety and even race. For most high school students who want to attend an elite college, the SAT is more than a test. It is one of life’s greatest landmarks.
Rejection. A word that I despise; and is something that has happened to me so many times in so many different ways. One of those ways was being rejected from one of my many college choices because my SAT scores did not reach their requirements. “Why apply?” you may ask, although my SAT scores did not meet their requirements, everything else on my application was perfect. I had great grades in high school, I volunteered many times; both inside and outside of school, I always helped around in my school administration whenever help was needed, and I always dedicated a month of my summer just to help my school give out the school books to students and sell the school uniforms. Doing all those things and being rejected made me feel like I was nothing; like what I did in my school life was all a waste. After taking all of those things into consideration, I still got rejected because of my SAT scores; which is why I genuinely believe that colleges should admit students using criteria other than their SAT scores.
The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) was created to test college-bound students on their mathematical and verbal aptitudes and to thus predict their ability to succeed academically in college. In the United States, the SAT is the oldest and most widely used college entrance test. It was first administered in June 1926 to only 8,040 high school students and is now taken by over 2 million students. Over the years, the SAT has become one of the most important tests of a teenager's life for admission to college. The test is administered seven times a year at thousands of testing centers throughout the United States. Most colleges consider the SAT to be a reliable predictor of academic success in college and is therefore used as a critical tool when selecting applicants. However, the question that has to be confronted is whether the test is fair to all students.
I should receive a passing grade in this class because I can write now. Not just an exaggeration, but after another semester of English I finally feel confident that can write. Three of the reasons behind my confidence is I learned, I experienced and best of all I repeated. These three values helped prepare me for what is in store in English 1302 and here is why.