Jessica Bradley2B English

Why Should the ACT determine Which College You Get Into?

Why should the ACT determine which college you choose to get into? The ACT

tests your knowledge on four sections. Unfortunately in order, to get into college students

at least have to score a 19.

Nevertheless, colleges should not use the results of one single test to determine

whether a child gets into college. A single test for college admittance shows a snapshot in

only one area of the total picture of a student. Colleges in the United States base what

students make on the ACT and SAT instead of their high school grades. Colleges use the

test scores to see if the student will succeed in their college and in everyday life. The

ACT tests basically only one side of a student’s brain. Colleges don’t look at the

extracurricular activities a student performs or the awards they receive. According to a

study, “indicates that colleges should fine students who are outstanding performers

outside the classroom as well as those who will do well in the classroom.”(Richards)

Second, the ACT and SAT should base on what the student has learned in high

school. Schools across the United States base their schools on different criteria than most.

Every child has a different base of learning. The ACT has four sections that base your

knowledge on Math, English, Literature, and Science. Other than, the SAT which bases

on the schools level of teaching. The SAT gives the test takers a point if they even guess

unlike the ACT. The SAT seems like a sigh of relief if the student even guesses. The

criterion a school teaches is unequal to the other schools across the United States.

Schools teach different levels of thinking to their students. In an article written for

Writing, Barden state, “teachers have long expressed concerns about the usefulness of the

ACT” (Barden). The students, who are not very good like me, at test taking, have a

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Jessica Bradley2B English

disadvantage than most students. I am a high school student who has never been able to

take test very well. I study all the time and when test time comes along my brain goes

blank. During the ACT, recently I could not remember what I had learned in previous

years of my high school classes. My ACT score is below a twenty and I have to make a

nineteen to be able to get into the college I choose. I have been an A and B student during

my whole twelve years of high school. I think the ACT is underrated and should not

determine the college I would like to enroll in. I have a disadvantage than most students

because I have this problem. According to USA Today “The tests are different, and

students with different learning styles or subject knowledge often do much better on one

test than the other” (Miano). Even though, I have tried different test taking strategies

nothing seems to work. Colleges need something to base the student knowledge such as

looking at the student’s Benchmark exam which tests different levels of thinking. The

colleges could use this to base if the child is worthy of entering their college.

Thus, the ACT Testing Organization should band the ACT and SAT because the

test should only determine on the criteria a student’s school or district teaches. In

conclusion, I have realized that students are being mistreated by the tests. No test should

determine which college a student chooses. If a student has a disadvantage like me then I

should be able to attend the college I want and be given a chance at becoming something

great and have a place in the work field.

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Jessica Bradley2B English

Works Cited

Bardin, Matt. "Timed Tests and the Inevitable SAT. (cover story)." Writing 27.4 (Jan. 2005): 8.

Primary Search. EBSCO. [BatesvilleHighSchool], [Batesville], [AR]. 21 May 2009

<http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=prh&AN=15276615&site=ehost-live>.

Healy, Patrick. "In New Guidance, Education Department Softens Its 'Anti-Test' Rhetoric."

Chronicle of Higher Education 46.18 (07 Jan. 2000): A44. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO.

[BatesvilleHighSchool], [batesville], [AR]. 21 May 2009 <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=afh&AN=2660423&site=ehost-live>.

RICHARDS, JAMES M., JR., AND OTHERS, and Iowa City American Coll. Testing Program, IA.

THE PREDICTION OF STUDENT ACCOMPLISHMENT IN COLLEGE. , . ERIC. EBSCO. [Batesville High

School], [Batesville], [AR]. 21 May 2009 <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED014094&site=ehost-live>.

"Inside the Standardized Test." Literary Cavalcade 56.2 (Sep. 2003): 34. Primary Search.

EBSCO. [Batesville High School], [Batesville], [AR]. 21 May 2009

<http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=prh&AN=10560998&site=ehost-live>.

"College-bound: Take SAT and ACT." USA Today (n.d.). Academic Search Elite. EBSCO.

[Batesville High School], [Batesville], [AR]. 21 May 2009 <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=afh&AN=J0E404826442807&site=ehost-live>.

"ACT scores rise, but many not ready for college." American School Board Journal 193.10

(Oct. 2006): 8-8. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. [BatesvilleHighSchool], [batesville], [AR]. 21 May

2009 <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&AN=22274646&site=ehost-

live>.

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