Preview

Essay On Standardized Test Scores

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
475 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Essay On Standardized Test Scores
Around the world, there are hundreds of colleges that only look at standardized test scores for admission. College is an educational institution/establishment. It is a place where students go to get education after they have graduated. College opens doors for students that high school doesn’t. Despite these positive reasons to go to college, some colleges don’t accept students into their university due to their low test scores. Initially, standardized test scores do not predict a student’s success at college. It is shown that SATs/ACTs are strongly biased against low-income students and students of color. Colleges should not unfairly be against someone due to their differences. Also, some good students are bad test takers, particularly under stress. Such as when a test may grant or deny college entry. In addition, multiple-choice tests don't reveal much about a …show more content…
News & World Report “Best Colleges” rankings.
At college fairs and information sessions, colleges won't need to spend time answering high school’s questions about their ranking and test score "cut-offs." Instead they have conversations about the things that matter. For example, what does your unique academic program look like? What qualities does a student need to be successful at it? Colleges no longer have to worry that any applicant will lower their average SAT/ACT scores and thus lower their U.S. News ranking. Instead colleges choose quality over quantity and focus attention and resources on each applicant and their full portfolio. Conversely, standardized test scores help colleges compare students from different high schools. This can be an inaccurate comparison since high schools teach different things. When you sign up for SAT/ACT, you get the chance to hear from colleges that have interest in you. However, there are many students who sign up for this who don’t get
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Why Standardized Tests Are a False Interpretation of Who the Child Really Is
    • 2569 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Why Standardized Tests Are a False Interpretation of Who the Child Really Is

    Do you hate staring at a computer/ piece of paper for more than two hours and answering questions? I am sure most people would answer “no”, and that is why standardized testing puts more harm than good in today’s world. Standardized testing causes a lot more problems than usual. It used to be a part of life, but now it’s causing kids not to go to college, and it’s causing kids to have a level of stress that shouldn’t even be allowed. People all over are stating that they give a false overview of who the student actually is, and in the end, these tests won’t get you anywhere in life. It’s important to many people including students who are taking the tests, teachers who are preparing the students for these tests, and of course the parents who have to deal with all the complaints from their child about these tests. This is a pretty important issue today, because so much is riding on these tests. If you do poorly you won’t get accepted to the university you want, or your teacher could get fired because of your performance. Although some people think standardized testing is just a part of life and it teaches students that it’s not okay to fail, these tests give a false interpretation of who the student actually is. One score does not tell you if that person is an outstanding individual or not. These scores might help you get into a better university, but when it comes to a career later on down the road, employers don’t look at what you got on your SAT, they look to see if you are best fit for the job, and whether you are a hard worker and would bring the company many positives, and I think colleges should focus on that same idea.…

    • 2569 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    ED6562: College Readiness And K-12 Partnerships
    • 2897 Words
    • 12 Pages

    ED6562: College Readiness And K-12 Partnerships

    College Readiness is knowledge, skills, and attributes a student should possess to be ready to succeed in entry-level college courses. A great amount of students entering college are not ready for college coursework resulting in a high number of dropouts. K-12 Partnerships with community colleges work together to ensure that a curriculum is on the same path. ­ This paper explores the political role in college readiness, K-12 partnerships, financial, ethical, the impact on universities, and community programs to help students become more college ready.…

    • 2897 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Sat: Generalized for Minority Population?
    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Sat: Generalized for Minority Population?

    Colleges and universities take into consideration a number of factors when determining student admissions and eligibility. One such measure is the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Widely thought to be a reliable predictor of student success at the college level, the SAT has been a vital component of college admissions for nearly a century (Lawrence, 2003). While the SAT has long been presumed a generalized test, evidence indicates that cultural and test biases may play a role in the performance scores of certain minority test takers (Cablas, 1991; Wainer, et al., 1993). This presents some problem since the SAT is supposed to provide an “even playing field” for all prospective college freshmen. This paper argues the position that, while the SAT has been a relatively capable predictor of college success, it does appear flawed in important ways, leaving some doubt as to just how generalized it truly is for minorities. It is proposed that amendments be made to the current SAT in order to account for these potential biases.…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Should Schools Be Allowed To Study Test-Optional Schools
    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Should Schools Be Allowed To Study Test-Optional Schools

    By going test-optional schools appear to be concerned with diversity, but may have no altruistic intentions whatsoever. Opponents believe schools are adopting test-optional policies to improve their reputations and their ever important college rankings. Generally, schools see an influx of applications ranging from a 10 to 30 percent increase, which allows schools to reject more students and raises their perceived selectivity in its admission process. Additionally, only students who score well on their SATs will opt to submit their scores. This increases the school’s average SAT scores and improves national ranking. Although most test-optional schools do see a rise in socioeconomic and racial diversity, there are a number of schools whose diversity ratios haven’t changed much. A study by University of Georgia in 2014 showed that test-optional policies enhanced selectivity rather than diversity. The study analyzed 180 test-optional liberal arts colleges over a two-decade period. In the study, test-optional schools did receive more applications in general, but this did not equate to greater diversity (Belasco, Rosinger, Hearn 10-13). Regardless of the schools’ motives, test-optional policies as a whole are helping some students attend and graduate from their chosen university, and should be a welcome advancement to admissions policies. Nevertheless, the SATs are here to stay, as colleges who are “test-blind” (currently just Hampshire College ignores all SAT scores) rather than test-optional, are punished by losing their national ranking and labeled as…

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Why The SAT Should be Remodeled
    • 1821 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Why The SAT Should be Remodeled

    III Majority of schools and scholarships that are in major competition for students to get accepted into hold the an applicant’s SAT score extremely high and for those students who were not able to make an outstanding score on the SAT are not able to receive assistance for their future.…

    • 1821 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Essay Why Should Students 'Stop Looking At Applicants' SAT Score
    • 1617 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Essay Why Should Students 'Stop Looking At Applicants' SAT Score

    “Why did they reject me? I thought I could get in since I have lots of awards and projects related to my major. I just did not do well in my SAT test. But how could they reject me simply because SAT score was not high? That’s so unfair!”…

    • 1617 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Standardized Testing Benefits
    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Standardized Testing Benefits

    They focus on important, core classes and they show a summary of a student’s knowledge on these subjects. Standardized tests have multiple subjects to see how well a student does in each of the different sections. They also have different subjects so students will have a fair chance in getting a high score compared to all the other students. Standardized tests are not an accurate measurement of a student’s performance. Standardized test only focus on the main core classes, but many students excel in classes like business, art, or music (Hudlow). The students that do better in these different classes may look incompetent compared to other students. Even though these students are truly smart, just in different categories, they look the opposite because standardized tests do not vary…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why Is Standardized Testing Bad
    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Why Is Standardized Testing Bad

    Standardized tests have many positive outcomes; one is students being able to compare their knowledge to the rest of the country. Standardized test works by everyone around the country taking the exact same test. After the test is completed and graded, students get their results with grade average results compared to their results. An example of this is the ISTEP test. The ISTEP test had three grading levels: Fail, Pass, and Pass +. The grades are self-explanatory. A good grade was a Pass and a great grade would be a Pass +. With the results students can realize what they need to focus on to improve in the future. If one gets a Pass + in math but a lower Pass grade in English then they would know by the results to focus more on English in the future. A bad part about judging one’s education on one test is that the student may have just had a bad testing day, or they…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    SAT And ACT Should Not Be Required
    • 2024 Words
    • 9 Pages

    SAT And ACT Should Not Be Required

    A student may not be great at taking test, but they may be a great and smart student. The school that they applied to will never know that though, only because they were going off of their test scores, and they do not get accepted. SAT and ACT should not be required because it does not evaluate how smart you are, and it takes a lot of time away from other important things. The ACT and the SAT…

    • 2024 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Arguments Against Standardized Testing
    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Arguments Against Standardized Testing

    As a student who has taken an ACT and many EOG’s, I believe that standardized test are not the best source of evidence when dealing with growth in education. I, for example, am one of many who would classify ourselves as brilliant thinkers, but poor test takers. Not only are poor test takers at a disadvantage, they are forced to take a long, and pressured test which does not prove their learnings of the year. Taking a standardized test should not determine whether or not a student would earn their diploma. Not only do standardize test determine whether or not someone may graduate, they may also determine whether someone would be accepted to a college. Even though some colleges look at grades throughout your high school…

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Informative Essay: The Use Of Standardized Testing In Our Schools
    • 766 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Informative Essay: The Use Of Standardized Testing In Our Schools

    Texas alone spends nearly 88 million dollars a year on standardized testing(Martinez), and Florida has a $245 million dollar contract with NCS Pearson to administer their Comprehensive test(Vu). Nearly half “of all the school districts in the United states have reduced their time spent on science, the arts, and social studies” by close to 150 minutes a week in favour of the topics more heavily tested on standardized tests, like reading and math(Ravitch). Standardized testing is not a new topic when it comes to controversy, especially nowadays. In the last ten years Finland has repeatedly scored the highest on the Programme for International Student Assessment(PISA), even though they have “no external standardized tests to gauge students,” said Linda Darling-Hammond, a Stanford University researcher. These tests that are supposed to be helping measure our student’s and teacher’s performances are not only inaccurate, but extremely expensive and time consuming. Most Americans agree that standardized tests are just slowly tearing apart the American education system, thanks to No Child Left Behind(NCLB).…

    • 766 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Standardized Testing In High Schools
    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Standardized Testing In High Schools

    Standardized testing takes a toll on the mental health of teenagers. At most North American universities, one cannot even go about applying without either the ACT or SAT in tow. Thus, comes the massive amounts of preparation that comes along with College Application Season that High School seniors know all too well. This causes a scramble as students feverishly take test after test hoping for drastic improvement in scores. One such University High School senior, Tom Poulis, goes in depth on the subject;…

    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Limiting College Students
    • 101 Words
    • 1 Page

    Limiting College Students

    My primary advice for students would be to ignore the admissions statistics on the standardized scores of enrolled students. Too often, prospective students limit their choices of colleges purely based on a numeric value. It is unfair, unjust, and unnecessary to sum up a student's life experiences, zealous passions, and unique personality to a score obtained from a dull, standardized, four-hour test. Too often students hold themselves to a numeric standard and base limit their applications to colleges that reflect their own scores. Universities admit human beings with personalities, interests and hobbies. Universities do not admit 2400 SAT or 36 ACT.…

    • 101 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Sat Exam
    • 498 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Sat Exam

    The claim urges that the college admissions are relying heavily on this exam to evaluate students who the colleges feel would be “fit” to attend their college and that the SAT should not be factor on how students successfulness is determined in college. An issue of substantiation is subtly embedded within this claim as well; this is not an accurate exam because people can do poorly on the SAT and still do well in college. This claim is also an issue of evaluation because the SAT should not be a main indicator for students to get into college nor should it be an indicator for how well a student should succeed in college. What should matter in the process of how a student could get into college should be based on their overall performance in school, not just taking the SAT exam.…

    • 498 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Education and Poverty
    • 1508 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Education and Poverty

    The growing debate over whether college admissions are partial by overstressing standardized tests and GPA has become a very controversial topic in the realm of education. Numerous students argue that the admission process is unfair in placing a greater emphasis on certain stressed requirements, such as the ACT/SAT, while neglecting to examine the whole applicant. Those who argue against the admission policy believe that each student in the United States comes from a very diverse background, and each application should be looked into with intricacy, rather than regarding just their requirements. Although those requirements are generally what the admission people look for in what they perceive as a quality student, those who argue against it feel that it is best not to overlook a student who overcame tremendous adversity, but just may have needed a point or two to get admitted.…

    • 1508 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More