Warning: Use Responsibly

It’s about using scores responsibly. Yes. Colleges should use standardized test scores in admissions. Standardized tests are not pure evil. I’ll be as bold to say that they offer a

useful way to compare kids across high schools. To me, the problem is less with the tests, per se, and more with how

colleges have come to use them in admissions.

Colleges have lost sight of the fact that the tests “test” limited

things. They’re not a one-shot, all-inclusive, magic elixir.   In fact, they’re

not even the best predictor of college performance (the high school transcript

is).

So the real problem here is colleges’ irresponsible use of

scores. They have put too much emphasis

on standardized test scores in the admissions process in an effort to preserve

and even raise their average scores.

Much of this is driven by the much-maligned and much-revered (depending

on who you talk to) rankings – and it is lamentable.