Does anyone else believe that this is a legitimate ailment? Do colleges bother to see their applicants as human beings, or are we simply numbers; numbers for SAT scores, numbers for GPAs?
That dichotomy is a little silly, don’t you think? They’re admitting you to take classes and take tests, so why would they ignore your past record of test-taking? That doesn’t mean you’re less of a “human being.”
Instead of stupid, could the reason be lazy?
Is this in reference to having high grades, but low test scores? If so:
There is no such thing as a “bad test taker”, because if people take lots of APs/Honors, tests/quizzes will be (or should be) weighted heavily. If one can do well on those tests, why can’t they do well on the SAT/ACT/other standardized tests?
You can do well on school-based tests because you understand the material that has been presented in class and in the readings. Standardized tests such as the SAT/ACT require test-taking skills under time constraints and the content is not strictly curriculum based.
There are plenty of schools that are test-optional, and the list is growing every day. Check out fairest.org. Here’s a list of schools that “de-emphasize” standardized testing and/or are test-optional:
http://www.fairtest.org/sites/default/files/Optional-Schools-in-U.S.News-Top-Tiers.pdf