SAT, ShmSAT

Why the SAT is pointless.

The SAT is pointless because colleges don’t focus on the results as a determining factor in their decision. The only point of the scores for some schools is to narrow down candidates. Overall, colleges realize that one Saturday morning doesn’t represent a student as a whole and therefore they focus on other factors, mainly an applicant’s transcript, to make their admissions decision.
    The Collgeboard claims, “The SAT Reasoning Test is a measure of the critical thinking skills you'll need for academic success in college.” This statement is simply not true. I, like many others, do not test well. This fact doesn’t mean that I am stupid and will not succeed, for I do well in school. Standardized testing, specifically the SAT, is a challenge for weak test takers because the Collegeboard purposely does not make the questions straightforward and instead words them so they require deciphering. This extra step means students use up more time and omit or incorrectly respond to more answers, which lowers their score. Overall, the SAT doesn’t measure the aptitude or capabilities of a person but only singles out good and bad test takers.
    Another problem with the SAT is that no one knows what its purpose is anymore and that it is basically an experiment. “SAT”, when created in 1941, used to stand for “Scholastic Aptitude Test.” Now it doesn’t stand for anything. How can a test be useful when its purpose is unclear? The Collegeboard stresses students out even more by including a section that doesn’t count, just so they can come up with questions for the next test. A student doesn’t know which section is experimental, causing them to dwell on this question, creating a distraction. Another aspect that ticks students off is the writing section. Before this third section was added and administered in March 2005, it used to be an SAT II Subject test. Most colleges still use the 1600 scale because the writing section is new and because there is the college essay. The Collegeboard has already begun discussing removing the writing section. Ahhhhhhhh! Why does our class (and the three classes before us) always serve as the guinea pig? This change would be unfair because we would have endured more stress while future applicants would get off easy. It would also mean that colleges see our “writing skills” but not those of others.
    Yes there is the option of taking the ACT, but not all colleges accept this test. Even though the ACT is more straightforward than the SAT, it is mainly a Midwest test, unlike the SAT, which is more popular on the coasts. Sometimes I think that because the Collegeboard is located in Princeton, NJ, the “ivy” presence rubs off on them. But other Ivy League schools are boasting that they do not base their admissions decisions solely on the SAT. The main factor in decision-making is the high school transcript. Colleges recognize and emphasize this point. If the colleges say this themselves, why bother with the SAT at all? They say they rarely consider it, so what is the point? Until the Collegeboard can conclusively define the purpose of the test and until colleges solely depend on the test as a decision maker (which will never happen), the SAT should be eliminated.