http://www.opposingviews.com/questions/should-colleges-consider-sat-act-scores Opposing Views - Should Colleges Consider SAT/ACT Scores? http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/the-sat-and-act-inhibit-improvement I agree that we shouldn't throw out ACT and SAT and claim "Mission Accomplished!" But we've already developed an improvement.  The AP exams, IB curriculum, SAT Subject tests, and gifted programs across the country have already laid a... Mark Truman Tue, 02 Dec 2008 11:19:00 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/the-sat-and-act-inhibit-improvement http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/limited-use-doesn-t-demand-universal-use All A's and C's are not created equal.  It's obvious that some schools will offer grades for much less work than other schools, even within a similar geographic area.  However, the current tests (ACT and SAT) are terrible indicators of... Mark Truman Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:28:14 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/limited-use-doesn-t-demand-universal-use http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/stay-narrowly-focused I prefer certain standardized tests to others. Those that really help shed light on a transcript are especially useful, in my opinion. The SAT does not fall into this category. However, the SAT Subject Tests and the AP exams do.  I can't... Bari Norman, PhD Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:58:23 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/stay-narrowly-focused http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/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... Bari Norman, PhD Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:55:21 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/warning-use-responsibly http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/all-high-schools-are-not-created-equal Everyone has strengths and everyone has weaknesses.  High schools included.  And we know that some high schools do a better job than others, as do some teachers.  We're also well aware of the horrendous grade inflation prevalent at... Bari Norman, PhD Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:52:11 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/all-high-schools-are-not-created-equal http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/the-tests-simply-aren-t-needed-to-recruit-good-students Many schools have started to use a score-optional admissions policy that allows students to submit their applications without presenting any scores at all. While sometimes this may be done for cynical reasons (fewer "bad" scores means the schools... Mark Truman Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:46:11 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/the-tests-simply-aren-t-needed-to-recruit-good-students http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/the-tests-are-too-easy-to-prep-for As a professional test prep tutor, I've seen hundreds of kids improve their scores. Some of them even jump from merely average scores to incredible top percentile scores without much more than a serious review of the material and lessons on the... Mark Truman Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:45:52 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/the-tests-are-too-easy-to-prep-for http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/the-tests-aren-t-sufficiently-content-based Did you know the ACT Science sections requires no knowledge of any science? Did you know that the hardest concepts tested on the SAT Math are beginning Algebra II? Did you know that when grading the ACT and SAT Essays, essay graders are... Mark Truman Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:45:09 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/the-tests-aren-t-sufficiently-content-based http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/the-tests-are-not-strongly-correlated-with-college-success It is easy to forget that the purpose of the SAT or ACT is not to issue a judgment on a student's intelligence, but is instead supposed to offer us a prediction of how well the student will perform in college. Throughout the years, ETS and ACT have... Mark Truman Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:44:46 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/the-tests-are-not-strongly-correlated-with-college-success http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/improvement-is-preferable-to-abandonment The debate over use of the SAT and ACT is a healthy one for higher education. These tests shouldn’t be continued just because they have been a part of the admissions process for a long time. Attention to shortcomings with the entrance tests can... Jerry Israel, PhD Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:39:31 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/improvement-is-preferable-to-abandonment http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/better-informed-admissions-decision-making Colleges have precious few reliable ways by which to compare their programs or their students with those of other institutions. ACT and SAT scores can be used to gauge an entering class' academic quality. Therefore, these scores are the most common... Jerry Israel, PhD Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:38:21 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/better-informed-admissions-decision-making http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/attention-to-academic-quality Student decisions about which college to attend are made on a variety of criteria, not always well thought out.  Athletics, social life, location and creature comforts are certainly important but the reason colleges exist is to enhance... Jerry Israel, PhD Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:35:17 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/attention-to-academic-quality http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/emphasis-on-skill-preparation ACT and SAT probe a student’s mastery of certain basic and transferable skills such as reading, thinking, writing, problem-solving, quantifying etc.  These are skills that must be used continuously throughout college and beyond.  Indeed... Jerry Israel, PhD Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:34:34 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/emphasis-on-skill-preparation http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/availability-of-standardized-data The goal of both the admitting college and the tests is to make informed, fair and consistent assessments about matters of great impact on individual lives.  The SAT and ACT offer easily understood, standardized results that can be measured and... Jerry Israel, PhD Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:33:44 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/availability-of-standardized-data http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/finding-value-in-standardized-testing College entrance tests (SAT and ACT) are the subject of some of the most heated and controversial debate in all of higher education. Trustees and administrators are not of one mind on the tests’ value or even whether they ought to be used. ... Jerry Israel, PhD Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:33:02 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/finding-value-in-standardized-testing