Pros And Cons Of Abolish The SAT

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Recommended: The effect of the SAT on students

Walter Wesley
Mr. Heid
English 1100
May 6th 2014
Abolish the SAT
Most Americans think we live in a meritocracy where hard work can take you from rags to riches. Access to a prestigious education can be an escape from the poverty found in Baltimore and other major cities. Attending a prominent university is especially beneficial. Acceptance into the Ivy League and other renowned schools is also considered to be meritocratic. A preeminent portion of a student's application to these institutions is an SAT score. Admissions officers use this "standardized" test to juxtapose students from diverse backgrounds.
Since 1926, the College Board has been labeling high school students with test scores that can knowingly change their path to college. The College Board's standardized exams, sullied with prejudice, claim to be able to predict a student's success in college solely after four hours of testing ("A Brief History of the SAT"). The dreadful SAT has become heavily weighted on the college application, which has resulted in more than several anxious adolescent lives. Four years of rigorous academics, impeccable grades, community service and involvement, and determination can easily be disregarded in a university's admissions office because of an inadequate SAT score.
To those students lacking work ethic but who thrive in a testing-centric environment, the SAT is an answer to their prayers. But the SAT and its proven prejudiced nature is not capable in shaping academic achievement, nor does it bolster a high level of learning. Studies show that, on average, a white, affluent male will score higher than any other demographic category. Test score data from California shows that test-takers with annual family incomes of less than $25,000 have...

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...iuses who need to prove their intellectual ability after four years of lackadaisical schoolwork. American colleges need to continue to realize the test's limitations and lower the importance of test scores in an application package. What a student does in four years clearly shows his or her ability more effectively than a four-hour, tedious test. Overall, the SAT test should be eradicated.

Work Cited
"A Brief History of the SAT." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 04 May 2014.
Avneet. "Flaws in the System." Teen Ink. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2014.
Elert, Glenn. "The SATAptitude or Demographics?" The SAT: Aptitude or Demographics? N.p., 05 May 1992. Web. 03 May 2014.
Grabar, Mary. "Standardized Tests: Fair or Unfair?" CNS News. N.p., 10 Feb. 2009. Web. 04 May 2014.
Paulos, John Allen. "Do SAT Scores Really Predict Success?" ABC News. ABC News Network, 01 July 2014. Web. 03 May 2014.

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