It’s early on a Saturday morning, and thirty high school juniors and seniors sit in the testing site, mentally preparing themselves to perform calculations, analyze sentences, and write an essay, all in the next four hours. The students sit at their desk equipped with sharpened number two pencils, a calculator, a cup of coffee, and thoughts running through their head about how important this test will be in determining their future. The question that haunts many students entering the final years of their high school career is, “Will this score keep me from or help me get into the college I want?” Many say that the SAT and ACT scores are still a major deciding factor for getting accepted into college, but others say that this isn’t the case.
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For the schools that have done this, they have created a more diverse college experience for their students. There are more students from all around the world coming to these type of schools and some of the classes have also proven to be stronger academically than others (McDermott 2). It has been proven difficult for other schools to not require test scores for admission purposes. The larger schools, like the Big Ten schools, that have hundreds of thousands of applicants, the scores are still necessary (Fletcher 2). With the test scores they are able to eliminate any students that don’t meet the required score and then evaluate the others that surpass the minimum score. This still begs the question, how many students are turned away because of low test scores that could have been very successful at their chosen school? In some cases students lacking the intelligence of another student may perform better. Having outstanding intelligence is just one piece of the puzzle, and students that are more willing to work hard could be very successful in college, but they never be given the chance because their standardized test scores to not show that. The other point made for the pro-score elimination is that it takes the stress out of the test taking. Ann McDermott, the director of admissions at the College of Holy Cross, says “Minimizing the emphasis we place on the SAT can only mean maximizing our students’ potential for success and happiness.” Taking the SAT and ACT can be a very stressful situation for the students because they do not want to fail. There are also students that are not as successful on tests as they could be because of the stress they place on themselves during the
For the schools that have done this, they have created a more diverse college experience for their students. There are more students from all around the world coming to these type of schools and some of the classes have also proven to be stronger academically than others (McDermott 2). It has been proven difficult for other schools to not require test scores for admission purposes. The larger schools, like the Big Ten schools, that have hundreds of thousands of applicants, the scores are still necessary (Fletcher 2). With the test scores they are able to eliminate any students that don’t meet the required score and then evaluate the others that surpass the minimum score. This still begs the question, how many students are turned away because of low test scores that could have been very successful at their chosen school? In some cases students lacking the intelligence of another student may perform better. Having outstanding intelligence is just one piece of the puzzle, and students that are more willing to work hard could be very successful in college, but they never be given the chance because their standardized test scores to not show that. The other point made for the pro-score elimination is that it takes the stress out of the test taking. Ann McDermott, the director of admissions at the College of Holy Cross, says “Minimizing the emphasis we place on the SAT can only mean maximizing our students’ potential for success and happiness.” Taking the SAT and ACT can be a very stressful situation for the students because they do not want to fail. There are also students that are not as successful on tests as they could be because of the stress they place on themselves during the