A pivotal moment in a high school student’s life was taking the SAT, for everyone placed high value in scoring well because a high score equated to a successful future. These values caused students to spend many hours, days, and even weeks stressing and trying to prepare themselves for this exam. But was all of this stress worth it?

I believe that the SAT and the other standardized tests do not provide an accurate account of an individual’s intelligence and potential, for the SAT only tests students on certain concepts in math and English. Many concepts are not tested on, which are many of the concepts students learn at school, creating a gap in the concepts taught at school and the concepts covered on the SAT, so a successful student may not score well. There are also many other factors that can play a huge role in being successful at the SAT, for a student may not get proper rest before taking the exam. One bad day should not determine an individual’s potential. Colleges now place more value in being a balanced and well rounded student, for the student’s leadership, service, character, sports, clubs, grades, and overall consistent high performances create a more impressive student. All of these factors give the college a better depiction and representation of the student, so the SAT should be the driving factor in determining a student’s potential for success.

The SAT does determine a student’s ability to take a test under the pressure of time, but this test does not take into account the student’s long term skills needed to be successful at school, in the workforce, and in everyday life. Skills such as perseverance and study habits are not highlighted, which is shown through the inconsistent scores individuals receive. A student could score very high in math and low in English, and a month later, this same student could score lower in math and higher in English. The SAT is also expensive for some students, so they will not be able to retake the test multiple times and may not have accessible resources and tools that would help them get a higher score, creating a disadvantage for some students.

Standardized test scores have been used to determine a student’s potential for success at many colleges and universities throughout the years. This is a debated topic for there are many factors that make people say the tests are unfair and not an accurate measure of potential. The SAT is a score, not an individual. Classroom performance and the extracurricular activities of an individual should determine their success.