<p>What are your opinions on the SAT and ACT as indicator for college preparation?</p>
<p>I heard some top high school students in the sciences and mathematics that have said that the SAT is not reliable. There are so many students who have many achievements in science and/or mathematics. What the conversation resulted in was:</p>
<p>High school students should have the ability to take specialized tests in their future careers:
Ex:</p>
<p>A high school student interested in science majors:
Takes a test in •Chemistry, Physics, and Biology AND mathematics for sciences
a test of critical thinking regarding science publications
an essay on a science topic that shows proper organization and vocabulary</p>
<p>A high school student interested in Literature/Writing majors:
Takes a test in •English Literture, Grammar, Writing skills, and vocabulary
a test on critical thinking (critical reading)
an essay on a topic (such as a literary piece and how it’s meaning is connected to figurative language)</p>
<p>Universities would still want SAT and ACT scores, but it doesn’t have a strong correlation as to the student’s knowledge, capabilites, and values (potential). The SAT focuses on math, critical thinking (reading), and writing. Some may say that the college essay and resume are where students add their “stand-outs,” but it is not like that for everyone.</p>
<p>What do you think? What to add/modify/take away?
What would universities see this as?</p>
<p>Seems very similar to the French Baccalauréat, given to students at the end of high school.</p>
<p>In high school French students specialize in a specific type of subject they are interested in, and take the one of the three main “streams” - literature, scientific, economic/social science tests.</p>
<p>They will choose their test based on their “specialization” they decided upon when they begun le lycee…</p>
<p>Of course though, this aligns with the AP and Subject Tests… </p>
<p>What you are proposing is an interesting idea, although I do feel it is important to show strength of knowledge in the “other” categories, outside of their specialty.</p>
<p>SAT scores show a strong correlation of how well you might do in college; however standardized tests are flawed. You can be a 2.0 GPA student but if you studied hard for the SAT, you can easily score over 2200. Some say that SAT scores might not be reliable but colleges are using standardized test scores for a reason. Also, students can choose to take specific SATIIs if they are strong in the math/sciences or lit/writing. Either ways, you will take the SAT or ACT to get into colleges and even though they say that test scores are just numbers, it’s more than a number for college acceptances.</p>
<p>The standardized tests such as the SAT and the ACT allow for colleges to view all prospective students on one scale, and gives them something to compare that is the same universally. Since each school varies in their available courses, and the way the GPA system and rankings work, colleges find that the SAT/ACT give one scale to base everyone on. Many studies actually show that the better your score on the standardized tests, the better you are likely to perform, and this is why colleges use these tests to judge a student and give them admittance or not.</p>