From the article: Low SAT or ACT Scores? These Colleges Don't Require the Tests.
People tend to either love or hate standardized tests. Many colleges have recognized that the tests aren't always the best measure of a student's potential for academic success, so over 850 schools are now test-optional. What do you think? Should the SAT or ACT be required or optional? Share Your Opinion
SAT optional
- It should be optional especially in the wake of students (with their parents money) are paying a more superior student to take the test for them.
- —Guest pw18
Abilities Tested: Testing Ability
- My daughter, a straight A student in HS and very creative and active, got 1830 on SAT's. One prestigious college, my alma mater, said she was an interesting person but just didn't have the academic credentials, and was rejected. She is now a second year 4.0 presidential scholar at Smith college, one of the top US colleges with, for example the highest number of Fullbright scholars. This is just one example of how test scores in no way indicate potential for success in college. They measure merely one's ability or willingness to answer questions under incredible time pressure, with an eye to trickery in the questions. This is why those wealthy enough to afford test prep courses do much better on the tests. In these courses, students learn nothing more than how to take the test, rather than building their knowledge base.
- —Guest Claire
SAT/ACT not enough
- I am a parent of an extremely bright young man who has been the top student in his AP calculus (99 average), AP physics, Honors Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, etc.. classes at his high school. His SAT score without the writing was a 1320, and his ACT composite score was a 29 (the reading part brought his score down in both tests.) He applied to Georgia Tech and was wait listed; 2 of the students in his Calculus class who are making C's got in to GT because they had higher SAT/ACT scores. I really wish these colleges would look deeper into the types of students they are recruiting and rejecting. Oh well, he will do great whereever he ends up, but I just needed to vent that these tests do not always show the true ability of a student.
- —Guest Penny-parent
Required
- I get straight A's in school through a lot of hard work AND Intelligence, I have friends who cheat on homework and get extra credit from teachers when they fail tests so they too can have straight A's, There are others who put in a lot of hard work but just aren't smart people. I got a 2120 on the SAT and some of my friends are complaining about their 1600s scores saying the SAT isn't fair but when I go to college I want to be surrounded with fellow intelligent hard workers, not cheaters and people who take forever to understand a concept, grades don't show the difference between that.
- —Guest Frustrated student
Yes
- Sat or Act should be optional because these tests are given under pressure which leads to a bad score which wont take you to a good college....so please give some significance to academics
- —Guest Faiq
Daughter's Poor SAT ACT Scores
- My daughter bombed the SAT and ACT Scores, Now goes to Cortland State and has made the President's List -A,-A, A, A, A So much for the ACT and SAT
- —Guest Dad
sat
- my gpa is 4 and i am good at biology math geometry chemistry physics i can get all 800 in math section but i can't do reading section well what is my fault is it that i am international student but i can easily cominicate with english speaking person the words that i learn for reading section i am not using it in everyday language i demand another way to be admitted for universities of america
- —Guest t-bag
No to the SATs ACT
- How should schools grade quality? Certainly not by the SATs or ACT. My neice took both. With a 3.8 gpa (jr yr), and a 4.00 gpa (sr yr) combined with numerous ap, honors, and college courses (all As), she is a student on fire with learning. Add in volunteer hours, an ind study in dance, a part time job, and a state award in costuming. She is an intelligent, self aware, creative kid, but her SAT scores are 1650. Why? Probably because she needs more than 40 mins to write a decent essay, and more than a 100 multiple choice questions to assess her intelligence. I wholeheartedly agree that whoever makes up these pressurized tests and testing rules is a bit luny to begin with. So what do I tell her? Ignore the test, follow your passion, work hard, and apply to colleges who look at more than standardized tests. Her friend rarely puts in study hours, often skips homework assignments, and pulled off an SAT score in the 700s. Our fascination with standardized testing is unfair, a passing phase.
- —Guest JW
SAT/ACT isn't EVERYTHING
- I'm a high school student a VERY competitive exclusive high school. I'm involved in multiple academic teams, sports teams, clubs, have had many leadership roles, I work, I've received multiple awards and have been on my the honor roll since freshman year. I've also been taking college courses at a community college over the summer since the summer before Junior year; I've taken four courses and have gotten an A in every single one of those courses. I am applying for colleges now. I currently have a 4.1 GPA however, I only have a 1640 on my SAT score. Because my SAT is bad doesn't mean that I'm stupid or not a hard-working student. I have a 4.1 GPA, I attend school year round, I work, I'm an athlete, I do community service, I am on multiple academic teams andclubs, I am a leader in multiple things, and I have received many awards. The SAT doesn't reflect how hard I've worked. So go ahead, tell me I'm not a hardworking student...I DARE YOU.
- —Guest Guest HS Student
SAT/ACT
- I don't think the SAT/ACTshould define you as a person. Some people just don't test well under pressure. I think a person can do very well in a college setting as long as they study and take their studies serious. It is the same way in high school taking standardize test to be able to graduation from high school and you have been a honor roll student and you missed the math or science by one or two points you are in jeopardy of not graduating. That is not right.I think all standardize test should done away with.They are always telling the student the higher SAT/ACT more money you get. STOP THE TORTURE!
- —Guest Shirley/parent/NJ
SAT and ACT Test are Inaccurate
- In response to Tituba: A 3.5 is a great GPA. Most students do not even reach a GPA of this. I have gotten A's in most of my classes which are honors and AP. I have a current GPA of 3.75 on a 4.0 Scale, but really if it could be above a 4.0 Scale, my Guidance Counselor said it really would be a 4.36. Anyway, the SAT and ACT are hardly a good insight of how a pupil is doing in school. I am a terrible tester because of a condition called ADD. My test scores on the SAT are just above a 1500 (the national average) and my ACT scores are around a 25. This is barely a good indicator of how I do in school in a CLASS ENVIRONMENT (key words here). The SAT and ACT are misguiding college admissions counselors. I know that I am a dedicated learner who learns through sensory components (the reason I am very good at sciences and calculus), but my SAT and ACT scores do not show my ability of how I am in school. I have studied rigorously for hours with the same results. The ACTs and SATS should be banne
- —Guest Person Lauren
take heart
- All of you who are concerned about your low ACT or SAT scores, take heart. My husband would never have passed one of those tests. He graduated from high school unable to even write a complete sentence without spelling or grammatical errors. However, his brain was highly functional. He attended a technical school and was hired into a company, where he has risen to the top and travels worldwide in his management position. Six years ago at age 40 he finally graduated with a bachelor's degree. I was one of those arrogant ones who thought my high grades and ability to spell and write a sentence would allow me to rise above those who couldn't. My husband has humbled me. He is definitely far more gifted and intelligent than I. He is able to think more clearly than I in an emergency. I can attest that standardized test scores do not measure true intelligence or the ability to learn and perform. I wish you all success.
- —nevereverstoplearning
One Morning
- The SAT is taken on a Saturday morning. What occurs on that one day should not be a big determining factor as to whether or not a student can get into a good college.
- —Guest Anonymous
Are you people kidding me?
- Okay, this is ridiculous, half of these posts come from people saying, "I got a 3.5 GPA but only a 20 on the ACT?!" A 3.5 is NOT good, most good, even okay. Colleges consider a 3.5 as mediocre at best, unless you go to a prestigious high school such as Exeter. And I'm sorry, but the SAT measures your ability to think critically, an essential tool if you plan on going to a pristine college. The ACT and SAT create a setting where inflated grades become useless, as they should be. Sorry, but college is for smart people, not for people who have to spend three times as much time to do the same things as their classmates. And to the lady complaining that she can't get an 18 on the ACT...really?! They set a minimum for a reason, try taking the MCAT, you would be in for a rude awakening. If all you can get is a 16 on the ACT, you probably can't handle the rigor of nursing school.
- —Guest Tituba
The ACT/SAT i NOT about what you know
- These standardized tests are NOT about what you KNOW it is PRIMARILY how FAST you can READ. If you can take the science portion of the ACT without knowing any science at all there is a huge problem. People who read slower and more analytic are punished in not only reading but science. If someone who took the "lower science classes" like Nature Progression, astromony, geology, ect. can get a better score in science then a person who got A's and B's in AP Chemistry, AP Biology, and AP Physics how does that paint an accurate picture.
- —Guest thisisastupidtesttobeginwith
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