Preview

Claim Of Value Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
934 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Claim Of Value Essay
Julia McCall
02/16/15
WR 122
Sydney Elliott

Preparatory classes for standardized testing are generally not worth their price

Standardized testing in the United States started in 1845, with Horace Mann public education advocate, who “called for standardized testing of spelling, geography, and math in public schools” to assess students’ abilities. Then, in 1900, The College Entrance Examination Board, now known as the College Board, was founded. The Board was an essay-based exam testing students in math, science, literature, and Latin. In 1926, the Board introduced the multiple-choice SAT, which stands for Scholastic Aptitude Test, in order to speed up the testing and evaluation process (Opposing Viewpoints, 1).
Today, there are two major types of standardized testing systems: the SAT and the ACT. Nowadays, both are very important in the future of students. Most universities and colleges state in their requirements for admission that freshman applicants submit their ACT and/or SAT scores to be considered to admission. The higher your scores are, the higher your chance of getting into the college or university of your dreams is, so there’s pressure on high school students who want to get accepted to well-known, competitive universities. Many plan ahead in their teenage years, studying for the SAT and ACT tests to make sure they will get a high score on them. For many, the best way to do so is by taking prep classes. These classes, usually held at the high schools, are designed to prepare students for the standardized tests and to help them to get a good score on every section of the tests.
However, there is a high price which those who want to take these preparatory classes have to pay. ACT and SAT prep classes are an added cost to unavoidable fees such as university application fees and other, optional expenses, including tutors, university campus visits and travel costs. According to the article titled “ACT and SAT Prep Classes Are Worth the Time and Money for

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Abolish Sat

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In “Abolish the SAT” by Charles Murray, Murray argues that there's no benefit in keeping SAT test, thus it should be demolished. The author supports this point by comparing and analyzing the relationship between high school grades, SAT scores, and freshman grades in college, stating how the meaning of “SAT” has changed over time, and stating that wealthy kids have advantages of getting high scores on SAT than those who are poor.…

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Upward Bound

    • 354 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Taking the American College Test (ACT) is almost an inevitable part of getting into college so…

    • 354 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Standardized tests have existed in America since 1800s. The tests are ubiquitous attempt to measure students’ performance based on his or her ability to come up with a singular answer to multiple choice questions. A major problem with this is that all students learn differently and their ability to take the standardized test is not a valid representation. The “No Child Left Behind Act” caused a surge in the amount of standardized tests required throughout the nation. The results of these standardized testing showed that America was in the 31st position in the world in the level of education. This is reflected in our school system, which is most likely caused by the misunderstanding of the standardized testing. Standardized testing limits…

    • 220 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Abolish the SAT

    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Every year seniors in high school are forced to take the SAT. SAT scores have been looked at as a sign of intellectual aptitude since 1933, but with the increase of tutoring, AP classes, aptitude tests, and higher GPAs, has the SAT become outdated? In Charles Murray’s essay “Abolish the SAT” he argues that, indeed, the SAT no longer serves a purpose. The SAT used to act as a democratizing force that would allow students from low scoring, rural-area schools an opportunity to be seen by prestigious colleges as a “diamond-in-the- rough”…

    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Over the course of a person’s life, he or she will be subjected to taking standardized tests. Whether in elementary, middle, or high school, these test are known by all students. Many students dread everyday leading up to the day of the test. Standardized tests are not efficient in improving the performance of students.…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Standardized testing has been embedded in children from the time they first enter kindergarten all the way through grade school and high school years and finally ending in college and graduate school. It has become so frequent that it is no longer questioned why these tests are necessary, and by the time a person is finally through with school, they have taken an average of twenty to twenty-two tests. Although countless generations of Americans have had to sit through these tests, never have they played such a prominent role in schooling. Usually these exams were used to administer a child’s performance in the classroom and what he or she has learned so far, along with where…

    • 1728 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Since the 1870’s, standardized testing has been around in the United States, and almost one hundred years later, the American College Testing Program (commonly referred to as the ACT) was created in 1959. The Bush administration of 2001 established today’s standardized testing methods with No Child Left Behind. Now in today’s society and learning environment this form of testing is hurting our students more than ever. Teachers and students alike are carrying the burden of these tests, ruining the educational system. These tests break students down into drones only focusing on this one, or sometimes multiple, tests that could determine the rest of their adult lives.…

    • 1047 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American College Test and Scholastic Assessment Test, commonly known as the ACT and SAT, are both standardized tests used to determine a student's academic knowledge and skills in order to identify which level of colleges and universities they can handle. The ACT Inc. calls their test an indicator of "college and career readiness" and college boards trust their numbers to reflect just that. Although it is known that college admission boards take into consideration many other factors, such as grade point average, extracurricular involvement and class rank when accepting and rejecting applicants, it in inevitable that students are still turned down because their standardized tests reflect that they are not "ready." As a result, high schools all over the nation put great emphasis on these college admissions tests that are administered nationwide to each high school junior. It is true that standardized testing is a method for colleges to rank and then select students by expressing each student's capability as a number. This number is useful because otherwise it would be very difficult to rank such a diverse group of people, each with his or her own strengths and achievements in different fields. Although this solves the problem of having to weigh the significance and precedence of each individual's past…

    • 1270 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Standardized testing has been part of American history since the 1800’s. In Hot Topics Carla Mooney says, "In the United States school reforms Horace Mann and Samuel Gridley Howe introduced standardized testing in Boston public schools in the mid - 1800s. The men designed the new tests to provide a standard to judge and compare the performance of each school and to gather objective information about the equality of teachers" ( Mooney 11-12).In the mid - 1800s Horace Mann and Samuel Gridley Howe brought standardized testing to Boston. The tests were created to make a standard and compare schools and the quality of teachers.Standardized testing has been in America for about 200 years and were designed to compare students and teachers. In…

    • 667 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    SAT testing is not an appropriate method of measuring a student’s overall intelligence. This popular standardized test is offered in over 176 countries, including the United States. The SATs can be the deciding factor of college acceptance, making the exam itself too influential on a student’s future. Additionally, the test has been taken advantage of numerous times for higher scores. The legitimacy of the SATs is also questioned with the issue of income inequality. Most students in the 21st century are striving to achieve acceptance into elite colleges; henceforth, a single exam having the power to change one’s future is irrational. Despite these inconsistencies, some argue the SATs provide a cornerstone for the strengths and weaknesses of a student that can be compared to…

    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Standardized testing has become the focus of modern school reform since the implementation of the No Child Left Behind law in 2002 (Evans 1). The act was designed to hold all public schools to a high standard of education, measured by the results of students’ test scores on statewide standardized tests. Not all students are good test takers, and not all careers require the ability to take traditional tests in order to be successful on the job. A significant number of students nowadays would care much about standardized tests. This is because students feel like they must worry about a test which directly affects their grades and ability to learn. Standardized tests place a heavy weight on students that can lead to stress, take up instruction timing, and students won’t be able to learn anything from them.…

    • 407 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    An American educator who was examining the British educational system once asked a headmaster why so little standardized testing took place in British schools. "My dear fellow," came the reply, "In Britain we are of the belief that, when a child is hungry, he should be fed, not weighed" (Bowers 1). Even though this quote can be construed as being comical and light-hearted, the anecdote suggests the obvious question: "Why do we do so much standardized testing in the United States?" Standardized testing places incredible amounts of stress on teachers and school administrators, as well as the students taking the tests who are afraid that if they don't pass this exam, they might not be able to graduate. Standardized testing does not take in to…

    • 1374 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    SAT Persuasive Essay

    • 1357 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Thousands of high school students spend the spring semester of their junior year stressing and studying for one of the most important tests that will get them into college, the SAT. The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), created in 1920, is used to select each year's incoming freshman class.(source ) The “standardized test” is regarded as the test that will predict how students do in college. Therefore, colleges use students SAT score as the deciding factor on whether they are accepted into their dream school or denied due to not reaching the “benchmark.” Many strongly stand by the SAT as they believe it is the test that provides students “equal footing” ( Source) and allows them to demonstrate what they have learned from their high school experience. However,…

    • 1357 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Standardized tests have become a recent controversial topic across the nation. Americans strive for a great education system, but fail to realize that testing is the main issue. They are believed to be a simple way to evaluate students from all different areas. However, there are countless faults that cannot show truly show students’ ability. Standardized tests in the United States do not accurately measure intelligence and should be modified to prevent issues in academics.…

    • 1852 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Michelle Obama once said, “If my future were determined by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn’t be here. I guarantee you that.” Standardized testing is, “any form of test that requires all test takers to answer the same questions, in the same way, and that is scored in a “standard” or consistent manner” (“Standardized Test Definition”). Standardized testing is used in most schools and is used to determine the futures of many students’ educations. These tests usually have sets of multiple choice, or true or false questions that are to be answered within a limited amount of time.…

    • 976 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays