The Pros And Cons Of The SAT
For years the SAT has been used as a key factor in the college admission process. Each school uses a range of scores to help determine whether or not a student will be accepted into their institution. Students are given multiple opportunities to take this test. They then chose their highest score to send to the colleges of their choice. This mode of testing started in 1933 when the SAT was administered to students applying to certain scholarships, to set them apart. This I believe was the right way to use the SAT. Instead the test is currently used for every single student applying to a four-year institution. Can one score on a test truly demonstrate the full capabilities of the student? I submit it does not and propose that college institutions
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There are several arguments to support my view.
First, while it is possible to take the test multiple times there is no consistent manner to study for the SAT. A very bright student can perform poorly while, a less accomplished student could “get lucky” and score high. This conflict had been going on for many years. Opponents of the SAT say that requiring a SAT score can “limit [our] applicant pool and potentially distort [our] admissions and financial aid decisions” (U.S News, Rochon). While advocates argue that the SAT is a “critical indicator of future academic success,” (U.S News, Rochon) many often argue that it can become biased. For example if a student has good grades in high school but doesn’t have a good score on his/her SAT, their college options suddenly start to shrink. They have to …show more content…
This begins a process of eventually not relying at all on SAT scores. President Rao then emphasized, “VCU is not lowering its quality standards” (VCU News). Instead they are relying more on GPA than SAT scores. Rao also stated that, according to evidence from VCU’s internal research, “the SAT has racial and socio-economic biases” (VCU News). While many schools only require SAT scores for placement or for out of state students, VCU is one of the first colleges to completely disregard the SAT with a GPA of 3.3 or
There are several arguments to support my view.
First, while it is possible to take the test multiple times there is no consistent manner to study for the SAT. A very bright student can perform poorly while, a less accomplished student could “get lucky” and score high. This conflict had been going on for many years. Opponents of the SAT say that requiring a SAT score can “limit [our] applicant pool and potentially distort [our] admissions and financial aid decisions” (U.S News, Rochon). While advocates argue that the SAT is a “critical indicator of future academic success,” (U.S News, Rochon) many often argue that it can become biased. For example if a student has good grades in high school but doesn’t have a good score on his/her SAT, their college options suddenly start to shrink. They have to …show more content…
This begins a process of eventually not relying at all on SAT scores. President Rao then emphasized, “VCU is not lowering its quality standards” (VCU News). Instead they are relying more on GPA than SAT scores. Rao also stated that, according to evidence from VCU’s internal research, “the SAT has racial and socio-economic biases” (VCU News). While many schools only require SAT scores for placement or for out of state students, VCU is one of the first colleges to completely disregard the SAT with a GPA of 3.3 or