The Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing

Every year high school juniors wake up go to a testing facility that’s often not their regular classroom or school, and take a standardize test. The point of these tests is to give an equal opportunity to all students to show colleges their academic potential. Sixteen year old Darius Smith, African American student sits down to take his standardize test. Little does he know he is at a ninety nine point disadvantage just because of his race. Darius is not alone as standardize tests are riddled with inaccuracies that hinder academic growth and opportunities in our country. The assumption that standardized tests reveals a student's true strength and weaknesses is fundamentally wrong and is limiting our nation's academic development. Colleges believe that standardized test scores on the SAT or ACT is an effective tool during the admissions process to determine a student's intelligence and academic potential. Before the reliance of standardized tests, only the affluent and socially connected families were able to pursue a college education. In an effort make a college degree more attainable, the College Board was founded to provide a standardized evaluation of students through the use of standardize testing. SAT and ACT test scores are a poor tool when assessing academic potential because of these test's narrow content coupled with socio-economic imbalances, inaccurate prediction of future achievement, and racial bias.
There is an undeniable disparity in financial resources and educational opportunities among communities that reflects differences in standardized test scores. A recent Princeton study divided students into three socio-economic classes to compare standardized test performance. They found that the wealthiest third of students scored substantially higher than those in the bottom socio-economic