All About the SAT

All About The SAT

The College Board, an infamous name that is well known by all high school juniors, is credited with the creation of the dreaded SAT. The test was first established just under a hundred years ago, and it has gone through many changes and levels of popularity and importance. The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the importance and prevalence of standardized tests, specifically in college admissions decisions.  The SAT was once the biggest indicator of getting accepted into a college and because of this transformation, the pressure of getting a high score may be dwindling among test takers. Yet, there are many factors to consider and the system is still a large part of high school life, yet the future of the SAT is unknown. 

The original intent behind the SAT was to measure a student’s true potential to decide whether or not they were worthy of acceptance into the most prestigious universities. "When these tests were originally developed, people really believed that if they did the job right they would be able to measure this sort of underlying, biological potential," explained Christopher Jencks, a social policy professor at Harvard, in a 1999 PBS "Frontline" interview. "And they often called it aptitude, sometimes they called it genes, sometimes intelligence”(Bestcolleges.com). Harvard was the first university to require SAT scores in applications, and the pattern continued with prestigious schools implementing this new way to measure intelligence. 

After a significant amount of time, non Ivy League colleges began requiring SAT scores as well, and this lasted until the fall of 2021. At that point, COVID changed the future of the Scholastic Aptitude Test as it did with many things. During this time, colleges began to evaluate the morals behind this test, as it is much more complicated than it appears. “...many schools switched to optional test scores during the pandemic because it was difficult for students to go to a testing site at the height of COVID” (Thehill.com). Considering the days of quarantine are over, this is reason enough for SAT testing to once again become required. Although, there are some other elements to consider about why not requiring this test may be beneficial. According to thehill.com, “Experts against required test scores say the tests only benefit wealthier students who can take it multiple times and that abandoning the results in admissions makes the process more equitable.” In most cases, high school students can take the test one time at their school without cost, but those who are more financially able, can pay their way into a handful more testing opportunities in an attempt to boost their scores through repeated experience. This makes an uneven playing field especially considering the opportunity for “super scoring.” This is a process in which a student can mix and match their highest scores from both the English and math sections from the variety of test scores they completed, creating the highest score combination. Again, this opportunity is solely available for those who are privileged financially.

The current debate within the college admissions community is whether SAT requirements will return just as quickly as they left. Once again, it is starting with the Ivy League schools. “MIT, Yale, Dartmouth, and Brown have returned to requiring the SAT/ACT” (Crimsoneducation.org). Much like before, the transition back to the high stakes of the SAT will most likely be a slow process. Allen Koh (the CEO of Cardinal education, an educational consulting company) presented his opinion on this matter, “Given everything about the equity reasons for why they made the test optional, frankly, many of these institutions can’t go back on immediately,” Koh said. “It will take some time, but I believe that the overall trend over the next several years will move towards more and more schools,” he added (Thehill.com). This is very good news for rising seniors, yet the future remains uncertain for underclassmen.