The Sat Exam

The SAT exam taken among high school students should be eliminated, because it is an unfair prediction for feature college students.

This is a claim of policy because it conveys a sense of obligation and necessity.
The claim urges that the college admissions are relying heavily on this exam to evaluate students who the colleges feel would be “fit” to attend their college and that the SAT should not be factor on how students successfulness is determined in college. An issue of substantiation is subtly embedded within this claim as well; this is not an accurate exam because people can do poorly on the SAT and still do well in college. This claim is also an issue of evaluation because the SAT should not be a main indicator for students to get into college nor should it be an indicator for how well a student should succeed in college. What should matter in the process of how a student could get into college should be based on their overall performance in school, not just taking the SAT exam.

In terms of rhetorical appeals, especially ethos, the best person to make this claim would be someone from the college admissions process who supports the claim that the SAT exam is unfair and they will be able to give a better account on how the SAT is an unfair prediction of college readiness. Pathos would elicit a sympathetic response in readers, especially those who are familiar with the dynamics of the SAT, for example, previous students who have done poorly on the SAT exam and are currently doing well or have done well in college. The logical appeal (logos) of this argument would address the contention that with the elimination of the SAT, high school students will no longer be judged on how well they do on the SAT. Furthermore, colleges would then be forced to recognize the students overall high school performance, such as, their grades, extracurricular activities, and volunteer work.

To support the arguer’s claim for the elimination of the SAT exam, he or she would rely on SAT statics and surveys. The surveys and statistics pertaining to the elimination of the SAT would buttress the notion on how the SAT is a false indicator on how students succeed in college. The arguer would additional cite student records to conclude the elimination of the SAT would give students a much fair chance in getting into the colleges they want and forcing college admissions to look at the students overall high school performance.

Opponents of this claim will assert the importance of the SAT as an essential reasoning test used to evaluate college candidates in an “objective”, unbiased way. The arguer can refute this assertion by simply acknowledging the purpose of education and that a student should not be underestimated by one test. The arguer can cite statistics from surveys in which previous high school students and college admissions deem the SAT as a nuisance and futile expenditure.