It’s a question that I’ve wondered about for a while. Are the SATs really that important?
The National Association for College Admissions Counseling don’t seem to think so. In a report released last week, they stated that both the SATs and the ACTs were “insufficient predictors of a student’s likelihood of overall success.”
According to the DP article, Penn’s Dean of Admissions Eric Furda disagreed, however, saying that both exams, when taken into consideration with other application materials, gave a good general indication of how a student would perform in college.
The debate took me back to my high school days. You had your students who saw the test as the primary factor in college acceptance. Then you had the crowd who viewed it as a false indicator of academic qualification. I suppose I fell somewhere in between. While aware of its importance, I also believed that the test wasn’t a true representation of intelligence.
You study how to take the SAT rather than the subject matter that it covers.
There are key strategies one learns to increase their chances of success. The average student can do better than the exceptional one just by having access to these. The generally high cost of SAT tutoring also gives wealthy students a significant advantage over poorer ones. And that’s not even factoring in the allegations of racial and gender bias.
The debate over the test also relates to what one actually believes to be the primary function of higher education.
Many students go to school primarily to gain the necessary skills to succeed in the work world. The discipline and work ethic showcased by a high SAT score is a good indication of how one would fare in this type of environment. If you’re a slacker who did nothing to prepare for the test, you’re not ready for a school like Wharton. Your management professor doesn’t care that you “don’t believe in the exam.”
But there is another type of student. This student sees college primarily as a chance to grow intellectually and become a more creative, well rounded individual. More often than not, these students don’t get a chance to shine when the SAT score is the top priority in admissions. Their worth can be seen in other facets of their application, primarily their essay.
Ultimately, it’s unrealistic to believe that admissions officers would ever discount the SATs. High test averages for a school is visible proof of its elite status. Penn has a reputation to uphold, after all.
But that reputation would be severely damaged if SAT scores ever became the primary factor for acceptance.
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October 6th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
word. the SAT is stupid.
Although, it does have one major advantage for admissions offices that you overlooked. for example, you could go to the shittiest highschool, and get straight A’s. but you bomb the SAT, which helps to show how prepared you are not relative to the students in your high school, but relative to students around the country.
But yeah, the problem is the amount of hype placed on it. Its a stupid test, its not THAT important to a lot of schools, and its not something to really get so frustrated over.
October 6th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Do you comprehend?