Standardized testing: An unfair and unrealistic measure of knowledge

As juniors and seniors in high school, we are expected to take the SAT. We have had plenty of practice throughout the years from the MCAS; however, we don’t really understand the reasoning behind why we take it. We just accept the fact that we need to sit down and take a test lasting for hours, measuring “how smart we are.”

Not everyone is book smart. In fact, most aren’t. It can be challenging for students to sit down and memorize material that most of which you will never use again. To test students on what they know “from the classroom” is an unfair way of measuring intelligence.

The SAT is a test that was introduced in 1926 that is used to place students in colleges based on their score. It is critical to take the test if the student wishes to get into a four-year college. They also state it will give both the test taker and the college a sense of how you apply. And lastly, it says that it tests what you already know.

I believe that what college board is suggesting is false. This one test should not determine how smart a person is, nor should it decide for you your path of education. Not every person learns at the same speed or can pick up on material in the same way others do. This test should not prove to the college you apply to if you are fit to get in or not. The other point that college board brought up is that all material on the test is material we already know. Not sure how the material on the test is what I already know because from personal experience of taking the test three times each time there was a numerous number of questions I had no clue on. There are definitely questions on the test that students have yet to learn. Some students may not be up to that level of education, however, they are being tested on it.

In life no one bases their opinions of people strictly off of their intelligence. Why should colleges do the same? Yes, I do understand that school is for education and learning; however, people may do well in certain areas more than others that the test doesn’t hit. People generally don’t do well in areas that they don’t want to learn or have no interest in.