For years standards of college entrance have partially been based on SAT and/or ACT scores. I know my 56 year old mother took the SAT back in the 80’s, and I’m sure it was happening even before then. I personally don’t feel like a test score is a true reflection of what a person’s abilities really are..
A test score is just that; it is a number. A number may show how much you know in the main SAT tested areas of English and Math, but it does not account for the many different types of intelligences and the diversity of learning styles that human beings have. There are people in the world that are geniuses in other disciplines like music or being a naturalist. Humans are diverse. We do things differently and we learn differently. A sit down for four hours, pen and paper test doesn’t really allow for a person’s unique talents to truly shine through.
I am somewhat fortunate because my strengths do lie in the subjects of math and science. That’s a big reason why I am choosing to study engineering in college. I am not bad at reading and writing, but in those areas, I am usually a slower test taker. I remember back when I had to take ISTEP and ILearn back in grade school, a lot of times I would not get the reading sections completed because it took me more time to get through those sections. My scores still generally turned out ok, but I sometimes wonder how much better my scores might have been if I had enough time to get those sections finished. I’m a very conscientious test taker. I take my time and check my work because it’s important for me to do well. It’s harder to test to your potential, if you don’t have time to finish the entire test. I hear now that some of the ILearn and tests that the junior high and elementary students now take are not timed. It sounds to me like someone at the state level finally figured out that putting a time limit on student tests isn’t a fair way to test their true understanding of the content.
Also, some people just aren’t good test takers. I’ve known students who have extreme test anxiety and clam up when it comes to testing. When that is the case, once again an SAT or ACT aren’t going to accurately assess their knowledge.
My test scores have been fairly good, so tests don’t make me very anxious, but I have worked hard in many other aspects of my school and athletic career and also in my community. To me, having several different things that a person is involved in says a lot more about them than an arbitrary test score. I’m not saying there should not be tests. I am however saying that other elements should be taken into consideration along with the test scores when determining situations for people.