This past Wednesday, Lowers and Uppers huddled over desks in the Smith Center to take the PSAT. It is true that the PSAT serves only as a qualifier for the National Merit Scholar and National Achievement Scholar programs and does not immediately factor into the college admission process.
Nonetheless, sitting down to take the two-hour test marked the beginning of the standardized testing frenzy of AP, SAT and ACT exams that ultimately will play a large part in college decisions. Recognizing this, some of my classmates studied diligently for the PSAT, and many more have already started preparing months in advance for the SAT and ACT.The problem with this preemptive behavior is that the standardized testing system is inherently flawed, and in fact doesn’t guarantee an accurate picture of a student’s academic ability.
First of all, the standardized testing system significantly advantages the children of the upper and upper-middle classes. How can students of lesser means compete with the children of financially-blessed parents who can afford to hire hours of outside tutoring and enroll in premier private schools? Exceptional students who attend failing schools are placed at a disadvantage simply because their school’s curriculum didn’t adequately prepare them for the SAT or ACT. Although we would like to believe that standardized tests have created a perfect meritocracy in which the brightest students rise to the top, they in fact only perpetuate a larger system of inequality in which education is split along socioeconomic lines.
Secondly, the high-pressure culture around standardized tests have created strong incentive for students to cheat, thus skewing the achievement curve. Two years ago, nearly 20 students were arrested for taking part in one of the largest testing scandals that the U.S. has seen in recent years, according to an “NBC New York” article titled “13 More Arrested in SAT Cheating Scandal.” While the College Board has devised new strategies to fight the use of fake IDs at test centers, they are well aware of the fact that they are unable to completely eradicate cheating on the test through simple collaboration, according to a “New York Times” article entitled “SAT and ACT to Tighten Rules After Cheating Scandal.”
The very existence of cheating itself hints at a larger problem. The pressure on students to cheat in the first place shows that they are solely geared towards a good test score rather than the mastery of material over time. This is a clear indication that students place far too much value on a test that represents a mere four or five hours out of an entire academic year. Recognizing this, many colleges have already begun to make their application processes test-optional, not requiring an SAT or ACT score.
While I would not advocate for a complete abolishment of all standardized testing, I ask that we all think rationally and clearly about how much the SAT, ACT and AP tests should matter. To my fellow Uppers who are preparing to take the SAT or ACT this year, let’s keep in mind that they aren’t everything. Other components of our college application will prove equally, if not more, important.
