By MADELYN BOGLIOLI February 17th, 2022
Starting in 2024, the SAT will be moved completely online, allowing calculators for the entire math section and shortening the exam time by a whole hour and making the reading passages shorter and more relevant. However, as more and more universities adopt test optional policies, is the SAT even necessary or beneficial anymore?
Our parents probably remember studying for weeks, if not months for their SATs, knowing that they were the gateway to college admissions, but now so many more factors are taken into account when deciding who gets accepted, rejected, or waitlisted to colleges. In terms of academics, colleges take student’s GPA and class rigor into consideration more than they do for test scores. They also care more about who you are as a person, your work experience, community service, and passions.
Additionally, the content of the SAT and other standardized tests have been called into question in recent years as people wonder whether or not the tests really provide information about a student. This can be seen in the popularized mantra from the Princeton Review, which describes that “the SAT only tests your ability on mastering the SAT.” The majority of the information on the SAT is barely even reviewed in classes. Also, if people know that they will be tested on things and are able to study for them, is it a true representation of their intelligence or just what they can cram into their heads before they sit for the exam?
Another huge issue revolving around the SAT is that it disadvantages low income families. Wealthier families would be able to afford the best tutors and SAT prep material so that even if their children weren’t that intelligent they would still be able to get a decent score. Whereas low income students who may be very intelligent wouldn’t have access to those resources and may not do as well, simply because they didn’t have access to the right study materials. I suppose the College Board is trying to make these tests more fair by allowing for free prep on the Khan Academy, but this only bridges the gap slightly.
Now, because of the pandemic and even before, colleges have recognized that standardized tests are not the best indicators of student performance and they have started to adopt test optional policies. Many parents and students have concerns that these policies may still favor those who submit their test scores, because by not submitting them it allows for the assumption that a student did poorly on them. However, dozens of universities have come out and said that these policies only help students who are poor test takers, not to disadvantage them.
Clearly, the SATs aren’t accurate, fair, or important in the college application process. They were vital in the past, but currently they are only additional stress for students and with them now being put online and made even shorter they don’t serve a purpose anymore.