Andover doesn’t really focus on standardized testing at all, especially not in the classroom. I think that Andover students need to place less of an emphasis on testing and stop stressing out about it. Moreover, I think that colleges should stop asking for standardized scores all together because the whole system is corrupt, and standardized testing doesn’t actually have anything to do with your intelligence. – Calista Small ’10 I think Andover actually takes a relatively hands-off approach by not offering SAT prep courses or even encouraging kids to take them. In my opinion, this works well – kids do what they feel they must do to prepare for the tests. – Thurston Smalley ’11 I think Andover has a very reasonable attitude towards standardized testing. Unlike some of our peer schools, we let our students take the tests that suit their interests. Even though many of our classes are not designed for the AP or SAT, I think it is okay because most colleges know the difficulty of our classes. Getting a 6 in History 300 or English 300 is a much better reflection of one’s critical reading and writing skills than getting a 800 in those sections, and I think colleges too know that. That being said, for most of our classes, simply keeping up with the school work will help us score higher on the SAT and receive good grades on the AP. – Jack You ’10 I think Andover, the community as well as the institution, puts a sufficient amount of emphasis on testing. There are teachers and experts telling us that our scores matter. But the students raise the ante as well. The Andover community (where a 2050 is below average) puts pressure on everyone to get high test scores whether one believes they matter or not. I think Andover does a very poor job of stressing grades, which is an equally if not more important aspect of the application. – Demetrius Lalanne ’11
