Spring Break
Standardized testing should be optional
Alex Sanders
Issue date: 9/29/08 Section: Commentary
There are other cases where students may have applied themselves but their grade point averages have suffered because of other factors. Sometimes an illness, family death or a breakup with a significant other may affect someone's life enough to lower their GPA. The SATs in that case can give students a chance to redeem themselves.
Nevertheless, the SATs are currently required for college admission in the majority of schools around the country, including UConn. The advantage is that there is a test that is virtually the same for everyone with scores that can supposedly assess intelligence on a concurrent level for students who attend schools of varying levels of difficulty. However, high schools do not differ significantly enough that one is taught at a college level and the other still focuses on material taught in junior high.
There is basically a standard curriculum in all high schools. Everyone at some point takes math, English, history, science and language courses. Students' transcripts show advanced placement credits and the level of classes they took. That is enough to assess if a school is an appropriate choice for a student.
There are ways to judge students and evaluate intelligence without forcing them to take a standardized test. SATs and ACTs should be optional for admission at every college and university. Students are graded on everything else in their academic career; they don't need anything else to worry about while applying to college.
Nevertheless, the SATs are currently required for college admission in the majority of schools around the country, including UConn. The advantage is that there is a test that is virtually the same for everyone with scores that can supposedly assess intelligence on a concurrent level for students who attend schools of varying levels of difficulty. However, high schools do not differ significantly enough that one is taught at a college level and the other still focuses on material taught in junior high.
There is basically a standard curriculum in all high schools. Everyone at some point takes math, English, history, science and language courses. Students' transcripts show advanced placement credits and the level of classes they took. That is enough to assess if a school is an appropriate choice for a student.
There are ways to judge students and evaluate intelligence without forcing them to take a standardized test. SATs and ACTs should be optional for admission at every college and university. Students are graded on everything else in their academic career; they don't need anything else to worry about while applying to college.
Be the first to comment on this story