Teen Ink

Fall is a busy and stressful time for many high school seniors as they complete their college applications – gathering transcripts, teacher recommendations, and lists of extracurricular activities and awards, and sending them to colleges all over the country. The most nerve-wracking time for many, though, is waiting for their scores from the SAT, a test that has a tremendous impact on which schools will accept them.

SAT stands for Scholastic Aptitude Test. The ­majority of colleges require it as part of their admissions process. More than two million students each year take this three-hour standardized test, which supposedly measures ­verbal and mathematical reasoning. ­Although colleges look at applicants’ portfolios – including their GPA, class ranking, and special talents – SAT scores play a large role too. Many colleges will only accept students who ­attain a ­certain score for math and reading.

I believe that SAT tests should not be the most ­important criteria for acceptance into a school. Studies have shown that females scored lower on the SAT than males, but overall women have better grades in high school and college. This shows that these tests do not necessarily predict success in college. Most professionals agree that SAT tests do have some ­validity, but there is much debate on whether scores should be the main factor colleges use to choose their freshmen.

Another reason SAT tests are not a convincing ­predictor of academic success is that they are biased against minorities. The National Center for Fair and Open Testing, or Fair Test, believes that standardized tests like the SAT assume all test takers have backgrounds similar to white, middle-class students. This is certainly not the case. Fair Test seeks to eliminate the racial, class, gender, and cultural barriers to equal opportunity.

When applying to the University of Texas, students in the top 10 percent of their class do not need to submit SAT scores. These applicants had higher college GPAs than those who were not in the top 10 percent but had SAT scores 200 to 300 points higher. This demonstrates that these scores do not necessarily predict ­students’ performance.

My aunt received mediocre scores on her SAT tests. However, she graduated second in her class from Assumption College, went on to law school, and graduated in the top five of her class from Boston College. If the college had rejected her based on her SAT scores, they would have undoubtedly missed out on a superior student.

Most successful students must work very hard in high school to earn the best grades they can. Students who get extra help, study, and try their best are the ones who tend to get good grades. Their work ethic determines how well they will do in the future. Therefore, a better way to predict students’ college performance is by looking at their ­previous achievements and grades. If colleges focus more on the accomplishments of the four years of high school rather than one test, they will more ­accurately determine how well students will perform in college.