Throughout time, many colleges and universities have assigned a great deal of weight to standardized test results as a part of the admissions criteria. However, over the past recent years the objective behind standardized testing being a good indicator of college success has been questioned nearly across the board. While college admissions boards have been using standardized testing since the early 1900s to evaluate students’ potential academic performance, questions have arisen as arguments take the approach of eliminating them from the college admissions process or to further their reasoning and come to the agreement that it is indeed a good indicator of future college success. The topic of college admissions criteria is one that
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In Chicago’s popular daily newspaper Chicago Tribune, an article titled “Should Colleges Care So Much About ACT/SAT Scores?” interviewed two upcoming college freshmen asking them whether they supported or opposed standardized testing being a part of the admissions criteria. The article communicates two opposing viewpoints on the topic to emphasize the pros and cons of standardized testing as a part of the admissions criteria. According to the first student, Rob Garcia, the use of standardized exam results allow admissions officers to have a clear criteria to rate applicants from; their critical thinking abilities. Garcia adds “It is tough enough for college admissions officers to sift through thousands… of applications that may seem almost identical. It would help if these people had some criteria to rate each student, based on each applicant’s skills and thinking ability” (Garcia 3). Like many who would agree with standardized testing remaining part of the admissions criteria, Garcia argues that these exams measure more than an a student’s general knowledge. Based on the excerpt, “They test a student’s reading ability and how well they manage time, think critically and organize” (Garcia 6). He implies that they are factors that are needed and students will face in college. Elsewhere, …show more content…
As time periods have changed, so have the college admissions procedure and criteria. As of today, many believe that the education system is completely flawed, with this comes along the use of standardized testing and whether it is used for the right purposes. Like those who believe the education system is flawed, educational psychologist, Joseph A. Soares at Wake Forest University believes that “we seem in danger of loosing sight of education as more than just cramming a student’s brain for an exam” (Soares 7). In his online journal entry, “The Future of College Admissions:Discussion” he argues that “our visions of admissions have been too often blinkered by numbers with dubious diagnostic value” (10). To better clarify that, Soares is describing that we have lost the true meaning and purpose behind college admissions and determining true education. In other words, colleges no longer look at students’ qualities and abilities and look further and beyond a test score, instead they seem to use a number to predict students’ academic potential in the future. Soares uses an example to state a point and provide readers with a thought-provoking question: “As Bowen and Bok (1998) noted in their book on race and selective admissions, “prior grades and numeric test scores… are
In Chicago’s popular daily newspaper Chicago Tribune, an article titled “Should Colleges Care So Much About ACT/SAT Scores?” interviewed two upcoming college freshmen asking them whether they supported or opposed standardized testing being a part of the admissions criteria. The article communicates two opposing viewpoints on the topic to emphasize the pros and cons of standardized testing as a part of the admissions criteria. According to the first student, Rob Garcia, the use of standardized exam results allow admissions officers to have a clear criteria to rate applicants from; their critical thinking abilities. Garcia adds “It is tough enough for college admissions officers to sift through thousands… of applications that may seem almost identical. It would help if these people had some criteria to rate each student, based on each applicant’s skills and thinking ability” (Garcia 3). Like many who would agree with standardized testing remaining part of the admissions criteria, Garcia argues that these exams measure more than an a student’s general knowledge. Based on the excerpt, “They test a student’s reading ability and how well they manage time, think critically and organize” (Garcia 6). He implies that they are factors that are needed and students will face in college. Elsewhere, …show more content…
As time periods have changed, so have the college admissions procedure and criteria. As of today, many believe that the education system is completely flawed, with this comes along the use of standardized testing and whether it is used for the right purposes. Like those who believe the education system is flawed, educational psychologist, Joseph A. Soares at Wake Forest University believes that “we seem in danger of loosing sight of education as more than just cramming a student’s brain for an exam” (Soares 7). In his online journal entry, “The Future of College Admissions:Discussion” he argues that “our visions of admissions have been too often blinkered by numbers with dubious diagnostic value” (10). To better clarify that, Soares is describing that we have lost the true meaning and purpose behind college admissions and determining true education. In other words, colleges no longer look at students’ qualities and abilities and look further and beyond a test score, instead they seem to use a number to predict students’ academic potential in the future. Soares uses an example to state a point and provide readers with a thought-provoking question: “As Bowen and Bok (1998) noted in their book on race and selective admissions, “prior grades and numeric test scores… are