As students sit in large, crowded rooms during their standardized testing sessions, waves of worry and anxiety build while they consider the significance of their test scores. Each score on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or American College Testing (ACT), a simple number out of 1600 or 36, is often a paramount factor in the college admission process. However, as students, we are so much more than a single number. Standardized tests do not tell the story of each individual, and therefore are not a fair representation of high school students.
As some universities begin returning to the pre-COVID-19 Test Required status, the higher-education system is moving away from the holistic approach they claim to value. When college admission officers review applications in which each student submits a test score, it will become nearly impossible to ignore the blaring number that appears to represent a student’s academic aptitude.
Even within our own community, CESJDS began moving away from valuing the product over process at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year. Through the implementation of the “Grading for Learning” policy, the JDS administration made it clear that high school students should value the learning process rather than the scored result. However, standardized tests reinforce the opposite idea to millions of students across the world as well as the impressionable JDS student body.
Additionally, although standardized tests are intended to be the only “fair” way to evaluate two students side-by-side, the advantages offered to wealthier applicants makes this an impossible reality. According to the National Center for Education, one in 10 students receive “high-dosage tutoring” for standardized tests. However, tutoring is an additional expense that only wealthier families can afford. This means that one in every 10 students has an inflated test score that misrepresents their originally learned skills, and not everyone has the same opportunity.
Test anxiety also plays a very significant role in a student’s performance on standardized testing. The University of California Los Angeles School Mental Health Project reported that between 40-60% of students have test anxiety that significantly interferes with their individual performance. If there are so many students who have such a significant disadvantage since they don’t receive tutoring, how are these scores supposed to present a fair evaluation of each student?
Furthermore, throughout high school many students participate in extracurricular activities beginning freshman year. They dedicate hours upon hours to their hobbies and passions for up to four years, and spend a mere few hours in a testing session. Personal statements and essays tell the story of each student’s extended experiences, and are therefore a stronger representation of each applicant’s story.
External factors have changed the landscape of university applications in the United States. Not only have test scores become an inaccurate representation of a student’s academic performance, there are also much more holistic ways to evaluate an applicant.
Society is evolving to emphasize the importance of the process rather than the result of a given endeavor. The time has come for universities to evolve as well, and understand that standardized test scores are not an accurate representation of high school students.
