Edward de Bono once said, Many highly intelligent people are poor thinkers.

Many

people of average intelligence are skilled thinkers. The power of a car is separate from the way

the car is driven. For many people, test taking has always been a difficult challenge and for

others it comes fairly easy. But overall, test- taking doesnt determine ones intelligence. For

anyone who has either went or is going through the process of applying

to colleges, you know that one of the requirements for majority of

colleges is to provide your SAT scores. I recommend that the SAT or any

standardized test should not be a requirement when applying to schools.

In doing so, this will allow college admissions to focus on other aspects of the college

application, grades, and recommendations and give students a better opportunity at a higher

education.

The SAT was first introduced in 1926 as the Scholastic Aptitude Test, serving as an effort

in creating a test for colleges and universities to measure aptitude, or natural mental ability,

rather than mastery of subjects learned (). Today, the test is still recognized as the SAT, but its

just an acronym, no meaning behind it. No longer having a meaning to the name, what exactly

does the SAT measure?

According to psychologist Claude Steele, these tests are not designed to measure innate

ability nor mastery of a specified curriculum. Instead, standardized tests measure developed

skills. (Steele). In saying that, this means that the results from these tests are not influenced or

constructed by a specific curriculum learned from school but, influenced by one's experience in

and outside of school. To state the obvious, every student experiences life in a different light.

Whether theres a difference in cultural background, one's access to schooling, where and how

one is raised, everyone experiences different things in life. Due to this statement, many find that
the SAT test is very biased. The College

Board accumulates research from various

studies to produce data that illustrates a strong

correlation between family income, race and

test scores, as the highest income bracket in

math for example scored higher than those at

an lower income. Going back to saying

everyones experiences are different and that if the test is based off experience, someone with a

higher family income wont experience life

that same as someone with an lower

income. Or when it comes to SAT test prep,

this data can also assume that tutoring or

other test taking resources put higher

income students at an unfair advantage.

Needless to say, standardized testing is not a sufficient way to measure college readiness.

Test scores in itself does not determine a students ability to perform. From taking the test

myself, I understand that the SAT tests a student's Math, English, and Writing readiness for

college. However, when doing this, it overlooks the student's academic background provided by

his or her school. Grades give a representation of how well the student has understood the

material taught in his or her classes. If definition of the world intelligence reads, the ability to

acquire and apply knowledge and skills, why are we basing a students college readiness of one

the score of one standardized test and not their overall grades and grade point average. Because

our perceived definition of intelligence is so closely linked in with an ability to be measured by

exams, many intelligent people are discredited. The SAT score provides external insight into a

student's academic background and does not represent the amount of material the student learned

over the course of his or her academic career. A low score may suggest the student did not

prepare enough, not the students overall knowledge. Not saying exams are not important or

unnecessary, but theyre a good indication of your knowledge at that point in time, rather than

ones overall knowledge. Test scores do not have the ability to predict ones success in the

future.

Theres a lot that could be done to improve the college admissions process and making

the SAT not a requirement is just one step. Theres just no way for a bad test taker like myself

and a minority from a middle-class income family, like myself can truly showcase all the

capabilities I possess on that one booklet on that one Saturday morning. I personally feel that a

numerical score should not define people in the eyes of college admissions workers. Colleges are

deprived of many talented and intelligent students by defining intelligence through tests that are

wholly inadequate and constricting.

 Work Cited

"A Brief History of the SAT." College: Admission Possible. Kaplan Test Prep, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2017.

"Edward De Bono." Iz Quotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2017.

"EXPERT REPORT OF CLAUDE M. STEELE." Expert Report of Claude Steele. N.p., n.d. Web. 21

Apr. 2017.

WiredAcademic. "Guest Column from Hansoo Lee of Magoosh.com: SAT Scores Are Falling Now

What?" WiredAcademic RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2017.