Wow! So you did pretty well on the SAT, huh? That’s cool, but honestly, I don’t really think that a standardized test defines your intelligence.
I mean think about it. How can you really measure the essence of your person in the clutter of a 2400-point scale? I feel like a concise, 36-point scale just tells us so much more about ourselves, wouldn’t you agree?
There’s also no way that something as infinitely complex as a person’s intellect could be distilled into just three sections of multiple-choice questions and an essay. I’m simply offended that someone would insinuate humans are as simple as reading, writing, and math. Humans are so much more. Reading, writing, math, and science? Now that’s a holistic path to understanding people.
By the way, why is there a mandatory essay portion? Essays are, at best, a mediocre way of determining a person’s worth. I would say that it’s a decent way, though. An optional essay portion would be perfect.
If colleges want to accept a diverse range of applicants, the SAT is just not the way to do it. There are plenty of great students I could name who didn’t do well on the SAT. Plenty!
I think all in all, standardized testing is just inappropriate. People are more than numbers on a scoreboard – unless of course it was a very accurate standardized test. The SAT is definitely not that test, though.
Our educational system is outmoded and stale. We just can’t seem to let go of the archaic idea that there should be 5-answer multiple choice questions and a penalty for wrong answers. Thankfully, the SAT is moving to a more modern format now, but I think we can all agree that in the past, say, four years ago, the SAT was not a good determinant of your worth.
