Should Act Scores Be Paid?

In addition, people continue to argue that the ACT prepares students for college. For example, many feel as if when students prepare to take the ACT, they also learn effective test taking skills that will benefit them in college. For example, the ACT is a timed test and many people think this is a positive thing. People believe that giving the test a time limit teaches students how to react on their feet, and how to make decisions when there is not much time offered. Giving that the students are used to taking the timed test, they will have better success in college when taking exams. Although there are well researched accusations defending the ACT and how it is equal to all examinees, the ACT is bias and should not be the only factor in …show more content…
ACT scores to not reflect or predict college performance successfully. According to Scott Jaschik, writer for the Inside of Higher Ed, reveals that a large study finds that there is no difference in academic performance by students who submitted and didn 't submit ACT scores at test-optional colleges. He goes on to state that if anything, high school grades resemble college success. This reveals how inaccurate the ACT is for students. In addition, ACT scores are vague. The ACT holds a 1-36 grading scale for each subject. There are 1.55 points in English, 1.43 in Mathematics, 2.20 in Reading, and 1.75 in Science. This means that if a student were to take the exam a second time, there scores could differ higher or lower than how they tested previously. This can cause a significant consequence on applicants applying for scholarships if it interferes with a colleges “cut-off” scores. The ACT does nothing but underestimates students’ true academic ability. It is unfair and takes advantage of any chance a student may have to attend a college of their choice. According to the U.S. Department of Education, Micahel Smith states, records show that approximately 1,700,000 of students are homeschooled in the Unites States. With that being said, for some students, the ACT is the first timed test that they have ever been required to take. Home Schooled students go at their own pace and typically do not associate with other students to get a general idea of standardized testing. Therefore, it is unfair that one test score determines the amount of money a homeschool child may receive for college. In addition, if there was a student who wanted to be an English teacher and were to score an upper 30 on the English and Reading portion of the test, but scored lower on math and science, his or her composite score would unfortunately drop.