Mackenzie Mastrangelo

Mrs. Thomas

UWRT 1102

April 4, 2016

Reflection: I have learned a lot about my inquiry question and it helps me to see the

different views on my topic. In addition, I have learned that my annotated bibliographies have

improved my ability to write a paper and has helped to stay organized with my connections

between my sources. I believe that I have done a good job with connecting my sources and

keeping a very balanced paper between they say and I say.   I have made my opinion clear and I

have assisted my quotes with explanations to show their relevance as well as my thoughts on

each of these sources.

Is the Test the Best?

At the end of high school, many students decide to go to a college or a university and

these schools require their applicants to take major standardized tests known as the SAT and

ACT. According to Time Magazine, the SAT originated in 1926 and the ACT was originated in

1959.  As you can see, these methods of examination have been around for many years and have

been used as indicators for college acceptance. These are made to measure intelligence and

determine a person’s previous educational quality as well as predict the level of college readiness

that a person possesses. Most admissions’ offices have set a minimum standardized test score

that applicants must obtain to be accepted which is supposed to show the level of intelligence of

their student body. Does standardized testing measure a student’s intelligence and ability to

succeed in college?

        We have all walked into that testing classroom thinking this is the exam that determines

my future of getting into college; each question is designed to “test” your potential of succeeding

in the future. The amount of pressure this places on students, the millions of dollars made by

companies providing it, and the anticipation of the test scores to be released are all a part of this

process. These companies make millions constructing the test, selling curriculum, and designing

specific classes to help students pass. Many people wonder if this test is accurate representation

of a student’s intelligence and value in connection to success in college.

Andy Hudlow, a student at Santa Clara University, suggests, “The goal of standardized

testing is not to find out how well you think through problems, or if you can express your

opinions, or create a presentation, the goal is to find out what you were able to memorize.” He

shows that students should focus on their own intelligence and not what the tests try to create

their intelligence to be. He continues to explain the fact that it is not a measure of true

intelligence by explaining, “the first of many flaws with the ACT and SAT is that entire subjects

of the high school curriculum are simply brushed to the wayside. But topics such as advanced

mathematics and English are elevated far above their real world relevance.” I agree with this

statement that the SAT and ACT tests are mainly about memorization and the subjects are above

real world relevance.

        Outside factors can affect a student’s ability to perform well, according to Amada Torres,

vice president of studies, insights, and research at the National Association of Independent

Schools. Torres elaborates on the fact that family income, living conditions, and ethnicity, three

factors that are outside a person’s control, can negatively affect their college acceptance exam

score. She declares, “when it comes to test results based on family income, the national gaps

remain high. In each of the three parts of the SAT, the lowest average scores were by students

from families with less than $30,000 in annual income; the highest averages were those by

students from families with more than $100,000 in annual income.” Furthermore, she placed bar

graphs in her periodical to show the SAT scores based on ethnicity showing that Caucasians and

Asians have the highest scores in each subject with the other ethnicities trailing behind them. In

addition, on the bar graphs, she shows that independent schools have a higher average SAT score

than average national SAT scores. Independent private schools are offered to those who pay

more money to attend the school so this is dependent on their parents’ income. Moreover, public

schools are determined by where you live so anyone could end up with a public school that is not

accredited with an astounding education to prepare them for these college entrance exams.

Dylan Wiliam, a consultant that works around the globe specializing in research practices

for student learning and equipping educators, provides input in response to Amada Torres’s

statements. This peer reviewed journal, “Standardized Testing and School Accountability,”

highlights the role of educators, their high accountability, and their importance in standardized

testing. Wiliam continues on to suggest that providing accountability tests to assess school

achievement would result in high test scores to indicate their higher quality schooling. In

conclusion, he claims, “tests should be designed, and their results reported, in such a way that

each student’s mastery of each curricular aim can be assessed with reasonable accuracy.” I agree

with his explanation that teachers have a high accountability and that the education system

should raise the stakes for them and be able to assess them more accurately. However, I do not

agree with teaching straight to the test because students need to develop a love for learning

instead of strictly memorization to pass the tests in school. In response to my opinion, Wiliam

claims, “Ultimately, if we are to have high-stakes tests, the search must be for “tests worth

teaching to” (Resnick): accountability tests that are so closely aligned with desired outcomes that

the only way to improve scores is to improve the desired outcomes.” I agree with the fact that

these tests should be worth teaching to and the skills teachers would be teaching us would be

helpful to students in the real world and show different ways to analyze questions that could be

presented on the SAT and ACT. I believe that these exams are more about the ability to analyze

a question rather than the actual material that we learn in high school so it would be more to the

idea of intelligence overall rather than just a knowledge of facts that educators currently teach us.

Many colleges and universities state on their admissions’ websites that an applicant

should send in their standardized scores and if you do not uphold a certain score, some will

advise you not to even begin to apply. For example, on UNC Charlotte’s admissions website,

they state “if your grades and test scores do not meet this elevated criteria, we encourage you to

consider future transfer options.” As you can see, many outside factors can affect a person’s

ability to perform well on the SAT and ACT so, in conclusion, I think that instead of college

admissions’ offices dwelling on SAT scores, high school grades and extracurricular activities

should have a higher significance. To support this conclusion, Joseph Soares, a professor of

sociology at Wake Forest University, declares, “standardized test scores are based on a single

sitting of 3 to 4 hours, whereas high school GPA is based on repeated sampling of student

performance over a period of years.” It shows that high schools scores are a continuous

explanation of a student’s ability to perform well. In addition, these grades can show a wide

array of classes that were taken and how well a student can do in many areas including electives

as well as major core classes. He suggests that the test should “send the message that working

hard and mastering academic subjects in high school is the most direct route to college.” These

will “shift the paradigm from prediction to achievement” because SAT scores predict a person’s

ability to succeed in college but high school scores show the achievement and what they have

actually learned throughout high school.

Kathryn Juric, the vice president of College Board’s SAT program, provided her

perspective on the SAT in an article on CNN. Juric responds to Soares’s argument that high

school grades should matter more by claiming, “the SAT gives students the opportunity to

demonstrate their college-preparedness despite inconsistent grading systems throughout the

nation’s high schools.” I agree that there is some inconsistency throughout high school’s in our

country but the AP Exams, dual enrollment, and rigorous coursework can demonstrate what a

person is capable of and the amount of determination they possess to complete those courses.

Juric continues to say, “the SAT tests students’ ability to apply what they have learned in high

school and to problem-solve based on that knowledge – skills that are critical to success in

college and the workforce.” This can be true because it does show our ability to analyze a

question but what Juric does not focus on is that some of these questions are based on

mathematics, vocabulary, and science that students had to have learned from teachers in school

which causes them to become dependent on their teachers. Once again, this factor is out of our

control, but high school grades can portray our work ethic to obtain the grades that we got as

well as the level of classes that we took. Also, there are endless ways to solve a problem in the

real world but the SAT limits the way we can solve the problem to four or five answer choices.

Lastly, Juric claims that, “Unlike other standardized tests intended to measure a student’s

college-readiness, the SAT requires a writing portion of the exam, an essential skill in today’s e-

communications era.” Writing is a valuable skill, especially in today’s e-communications era,

and writing allows the college to see creativity and their ability to formulate a paper within a

short amount of time. The issue with Juric’s statement is that colleges, in recent years, have not

asked for the writing portion score or they disregard the score if it is submitted because it is not

based on a standard and allows for bias from the grader at College Board.

  

Works Cited

Cheng, Allen. "What Is the Average SAT Score?" What Is the Average SAT Score? PrepScholar,

30 Jan. 2016. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.

Juric, Kathryn. "My View: 10 Reasons the SAT Matters." Schools of Thought RSS. CNN, 20 July

2012. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.

Hudlow, Andy. "Standardized Testing Is Not an Accurate Measure of Intelligence." Knight

Errant. Student News Site of Benilde St. Margaret's School in St. Louis Park, 14

Jan. 2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.

Lane, Charles. "In Defense of the SAT Test." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 29 July

2015. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.

McClaskey, Janet. "Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad TAAS? Rethinking Our Response to

Standardized Testing." English Journal 91 (2001): 1-9. ERIC [EBSCO]. Web. 22

Mar. 2016.

Soares, Joseph A. SAT Wars: The Case for Test-optional College Admissions. New York:

Teachers College, 2012. World Cat. Web. 2 Mar. 2016.

Torres, Amada. Independent Schools and the SAT. N.p.: EBSCO, 2015. Academic Search

Premier [EBSCO]. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.

Wiliam, Dylan. "Standardized Testing and School Accountability." Educational

Psychologist 45 (2010): 107-22. ERIC PlusText [ProQuest]. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.