OPINION: Is Standardized Testing Still Relevant in 2022?
By Samanyu Ambewadkar
April 2022
Standardized testing is a term encompassing all forms of achievement evaluations that are generally automated in the present day. Initially introduced to the Boston school system in the mid-nineteenth century by education reformers Horace Mann and Samuel Gridley Howe, they were meant to be “a single standard by which to judge and compare the output of each school.” The nature of these tests has expanded and evolved since that time through the launch of the SAT(Scholastic Aptitude Test) in 1926, the ACT(formerly the American College Test) in 1959, and the AP(Advanced Placement) and CLEP exams, to name a few. Historically, standardized tests have played a prominent role in determining college admissions for a student, perhaps unproportionally. While students may excel in the arts or other fields, these tests have no way of accurately measuring those parameters, leading some to wonder whether they deserve a place as a decision-maker in 2022 at all. In recent years, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many major colleges decided to make testing optional as an effort to allow flexibility in the midst of a crisis. However, the decision showed that standardized tests weren’t as necessary in the college admissions process as previously thought. Two West students were asked to evaluate the tests’ effectiveness. Here are their words.
Student One
The ACT and the SAT don't prepare a student for college; all they do is prepare students to take those standardized tests. These standardized tests don't make you smarter; the only way to get better at the ACT or SAT is to do practice tests. What's that teaching the student? Nothing other than how the ACT or SAT wants you to think. I also dislike the fact that standardized tests are easier for those more well off, due to their education systems having specific classes that better a students ACT or SAT score, not to mention the fact that many times a tutor is almost a necessity to getting a better ACT or SAT score, further widening the gap between the rich and the poor.
Student Two
The ACT and SAT are methods utilized by colleges and universities to assess a student’s readiness for higher education in the most accurate way possible. Other data points, such as GPA and essays, are skewed heavily based on a student’s environment. For example, one could have an excellent GPA freshman year, but have it suffer the next year due to problems with their life. While colleges do take these challenges into account, they won’t be weighed evenly among a sample of other students who haven’t faced the same circumstances. Similarly, a student with access to essay help and prep would have better [admission] chances than one without. With the ACT, however, students have access to a bunch of online resources along with classes at West that can help with the test. Standardized tests are necessary to examine a student’s grammar, writing, and logical reasoning skills in an unbiased manner.
April 2022
Standardized testing is a term encompassing all forms of achievement evaluations that are generally automated in the present day. Initially introduced to the Boston school system in the mid-nineteenth century by education reformers Horace Mann and Samuel Gridley Howe, they were meant to be “a single standard by which to judge and compare the output of each school.” The nature of these tests has expanded and evolved since that time through the launch of the SAT(Scholastic Aptitude Test) in 1926, the ACT(formerly the American College Test) in 1959, and the AP(Advanced Placement) and CLEP exams, to name a few. Historically, standardized tests have played a prominent role in determining college admissions for a student, perhaps unproportionally. While students may excel in the arts or other fields, these tests have no way of accurately measuring those parameters, leading some to wonder whether they deserve a place as a decision-maker in 2022 at all. In recent years, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many major colleges decided to make testing optional as an effort to allow flexibility in the midst of a crisis. However, the decision showed that standardized tests weren’t as necessary in the college admissions process as previously thought. Two West students were asked to evaluate the tests’ effectiveness. Here are their words.
Student One
The ACT and the SAT don't prepare a student for college; all they do is prepare students to take those standardized tests. These standardized tests don't make you smarter; the only way to get better at the ACT or SAT is to do practice tests. What's that teaching the student? Nothing other than how the ACT or SAT wants you to think. I also dislike the fact that standardized tests are easier for those more well off, due to their education systems having specific classes that better a students ACT or SAT score, not to mention the fact that many times a tutor is almost a necessity to getting a better ACT or SAT score, further widening the gap between the rich and the poor.
Student Two
The ACT and SAT are methods utilized by colleges and universities to assess a student’s readiness for higher education in the most accurate way possible. Other data points, such as GPA and essays, are skewed heavily based on a student’s environment. For example, one could have an excellent GPA freshman year, but have it suffer the next year due to problems with their life. While colleges do take these challenges into account, they won’t be weighed evenly among a sample of other students who haven’t faced the same circumstances. Similarly, a student with access to essay help and prep would have better [admission] chances than one without. With the ACT, however, students have access to a bunch of online resources along with classes at West that can help with the test. Standardized tests are necessary to examine a student’s grammar, writing, and logical reasoning skills in an unbiased manner.