The SAT Reasoning Test, a dreaded but necessary component of any college application, may someday be optional, said Harvard’s Dean of Admission and a panel of college counselors from across the nation, due to the test’s inability to predict postsecondary academic success. The commission of counselors, selected by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), reported that SAT and ACT scores do not play an essential role in determining a student’s success in college. The counselors, however, endorsed curriculum-based tests such as the SAT Subject Tests and Advanced Placement (AP) exams, writing that they “send a message to students that studying their course material in high school, not taking extracurricular test prep courses that tend to focus on test-taking skills, is the way to do well on admission tests and succeed in a rigorous college curriculum.” In an interview with the New York Times, Dean of Admission and Financial Aid at Harvard, William R. Fitzsimmons said, “It would be much better for the country… to have students focusing on high school courses that, based on evidence, will prepare them well for college and also prepare them well for the real world beyond college, instead of their spending enormous amounts of time trying to game the SAT.” Fitzsimmons, who was also the chair of the commission, also said that Harvard may someday emphasize SAT Subject Tests and high school grades and eliminate the SAT Reasoning Test. John Anderson, Andover’s Director of College Counseling, agreed with the commission’s findings. “The SAT does not add that much value or information that is significant in the admissions process,” he said. “Right now, even the most ardent supporters of the SAT or ACT will say that these tests demonstrate little predictability of how well a student will fare in college. At best, the SAT will help predict freshman year grades, but beyond that, there is no predictive value at all,” Anderson continued. Students agree with the report, and generally do not view the SAT as an indicator of a student’s academic ability. Fred Grace ’10 said, “I think that the SATs are just a measure of how well you do in a timed session. It is not a test based completely on natural talent, but on how much you prepare for it.” Anderson also mentioned that other factors could also influence a student’s test scores. “One thing in particular [the commission] is concerned about is the way test prep has come into being as a standard thing for so many kids and so many families. [SATs] are an expensive undertaking,” he said. “Frankly, I’m not sure how much [the shift from SAT’s to subject tests] will contribute to the leveling of the playing field. The assumption that using subject matter tests will create a level playing field is an unsubstantiated argument,” Anderson said. “It has been known for a long time that there is a correlation between wealth and SAT scores,” he continued. Lucy Arnold ’10 agreed with Anderson. She said, “The tests cost a ton to take and then people who end up doing well and have paid hundreds of dollars per hour for a tutor and spent many hours practicing this skill [of test-taking].” Students outside of the U.S. pay just as much for SAT tutors, according to Mollie Lee ’10, who is from South Korea. Lee said, “In South Korea, there are laws that regulate the cost of SAT courses so that they are more affordable for students. Since every Korean students’ dream or mothers’ dream is get a good score on standardized tests and go to school in the U.S., most of the test prep schools in Korea exceed the payment limit.” Anderson later explained some of the thought behind placing less emphasis on SAT’s. “One of the purposes [of making SATs optional] is to reduce stress among students over test-taking. In my mind, it might just shift a lot of the stress from the fall to the spring with the subject tests,” said Anderson. “No matter what happens, some students will be admitted and some students won’t… It’s wishful thinking that [making SATs optional] will lesson the pressure and the stress [of college admissions],” he continued.
