The SAT has been a form of standardized tests since 1926 and has been used for colleges since then. However, using these tests don’t show the true potential of a student and never have. The SAT has two main sections that make up the score, Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and Math. Both of which are important but don’t show the full range of a student’s academic potential for a school. The SAT shows the ability to test-take, not the ability to learn and grow as a student.

The SAT is a stressful test for students to take. Especially considering the fact that you need several months beforehand to prepare for the test. Having the pressure to get a good score to get into a good college can be hard and distracting. This causes students to overwork and to burn out causing worse mental stamina and morale in their abilities. After all of this work and studying, their brains are already exhausted and less likely to do as well as they could. All throughout the three hour test, their brains are thinking about how they have to do well to get into the school of their dreams. These students could be straight A students with a 4.89 GPA and still base their ability to get into college based on this test when they should be focusing on all of their accomplishments outside of the testing room.

Some students that take the SAT have test anxiety. A form of anxiety that flares up during any sort of test taking. Although the SAT gives extended time to people with anxiety or other conditions that struggle with time management, it still does not take into account the mental struggle test taking puts on them. With anxiety, there are a lot of mental distractions that will decline a student’s score and cause them to spiral into a panic. This causes students to blank on questions that they might actually know the answer to in a classroom. When students with anxiety get their scores back, they tend to be lower than people who don’t have this test anxiety. This causes colleges to see the students with anxiety as less intellectual when in reality they may be super smart and gifted, just not great at test taking.

The SAT shows what a student already knows and what they have learned from their 12-13 years of schooling. It also tests their ability to use logic to solve problems. However, it does not show their ability to grow and learn as a student, which is what is really valuable to colleges. If, for example, a straight A student with many extracurriculars and leadership position, gets a 1120 on the SAT, a college who looks at SAT scores might put this student lower than a straight B student who has very few leadership positions and extracurriculars who got a 1300. Looking at just the scores does not show the true potential of that straight A student who would thrive at the college they submitted to.

The SAT does an excellent job at showing colleges test taking and logical ability skills of students but falls short when it comes to potential in higher education. These scores do not show students ability to work with others, work with their community, and participate and listen in the classroom, the things that truly matter in college. Not looking at SAT scores will cause colleges to look at the student as a person and as a peer, not just the student on one day on one test.