Unfair Realities of the SAT and ACT

         Why is there so much emphasis put on the SAT and ACT when they don’t reflect what they say they do?  The College Board says that these tests predict how well someone will do in college yet there are many people who do well on this exam and flunk out.  There are also many who do average and do very well in school.  If I were the colleges, I would put less emphasis on the standardized tests and more emphasis on high school achievements, class load, and GPA.
 The average score on the SAT is 1550.  The average score on the ACT is a 21.  These averages are for those students who are college bound.  The maximum score on these test are 2400 for the SAT and 36 for the ACT.  It is ridiculous how much the average is away from the maximum score.  The test does not have a high validity. John Kerry and George Bush both are very intelligent people who scored average on the SAT.  There are many students who do extremely well in college and become wildly successful and do average on the SAT and ACT.  So what are these tests really showing?  These tests are how well someone can take the SAT and ACT.  That is it.  They do not measure your intelligence, knowledge, organization, or any other important skill for college.  They simply ask structured interpretive questions and give a score.
If the SAT and ACT don’t predict how well someone will do in college, why do colleges rely so heavily on them?  This one is an unfortunate truth.  State and schools grade kids differently and use different grading scales.  A college can’t compare two kids GPA because the GPA scale is not all the same.  Sally from Alabama could have received a 4.0 from her school and scored a 1000 on the SAT.  Meanwhile, John from New York received a 3.5 GPA and scored a 2100 on the SAT.  The only common ground they have to measure people around the country is the SAT and ACT.
One reason the colleges should put less emphasis on the SAT and ACT is laziness.  A person can score very high on the SAT or the ACT and flunk out of college.  They often do not get their work done and the studying for classes.  This doesn’t work in college because the material becomes more complex.  Those on the other hand to say if very hard and get their work done at the opportunity to do well in college.  Their scores on the SAT and ACT will not be as high as the lazy, but intelligent people.  Regardless, the lazy person with a high SAT or ACT score will receive a scholarship before the hardworking student.
Scholarships should not be determined by a score on a test.  It should be over your course load, activities, clubs, sports, and leadership skills.  Unfortunately at this time there is no test to measure these skills.  Colleges are forced to use downstairs based on standardized tests.  It is an unfair reality that punishes the few that work hard but cannot perform well on these test.

(550)