The SAT was a standardized test that was worth a large portion of the college application, at least until the COVID-19 Pandemic hit. Many students could not take the SAT during the pandemic due to the necessity of quarantine. Others worried that they would not get a good enough score due to the disruption in their education. This is when SAT scores went from mandatory to optional for many college applications. After the pandemic, many colleges still did not change this policy.
I agree with these colleges. The SAT is one indicator of a good student, but it does not necessarily indicate that you are a bad student if do not do well. Some people are good test takers and others are not. I test should only partially determine your full potential. Your other accomplishments and activities combined say much more than one test ever could. I think that many colleges realized that they were not acknowledging the full potential of their applying students during this time. I know many people who are bad test takers, but good learners and problem solvers. When you leave college, tests like the SAT will not determine your career, lifestyle, and relationships. Engineers design and solve problems. Managers lead people. Secretaries keep records, not take tests.
To discover someone’s true potential, you have to look at the bigger picture. There are more important things than test scores. Grades, clubs, community service, projects, awards, sports, passions, life experiences, and finally test scores make up a college application altogether. A test score should not outweigh all of these things combined. As an example, when a company hires or promotes someone, they do not hold a one-question interview and hire them just like that. They hold a formal interview, where they listen to the person, look for professionalism, evaluate their skills, and then look at the bigger picture. If companies hired people based on their one big strength, many larger companies would not be what they are today.
Putting it all together, every person has strengths and weaknesses and some aren’t good test takers. There is nothing wrong with being a poor test taker because it just means that you shine in other areas. Sometimes good things do come out of bad things. It turns out something good did come out of the COVID-19 Pandemic: the importance of looking at the bigger picture to fully define potential.