|
The Standardized Test and College Admissions
It's no secret that the college admissions process isn't for the faint of heart, and one of the major roadblocks for students is the standardized test. From a theoretical standpoint, it makes sense. Colleges simply don't have space for everyone who applies. The standardized test helps to weed out the less desirable students. It is billed as an objective marker that helps admissions officers evaluate students from a vast array of backgrounds and educational institutions. So what if you really struggle with timed testing environments and scantron sheets?
Here is some food for thought. In case you hadn't figured it out, standardized testing preparation is big business. Feeding off the fear of hopeful college students, test-prep courses charge exorbitant fees to help students learn how to tame the multiple-choice beasts. Eduventures, a higher education research and consulting firm estimates that American students spend over $530 million a year on SAT prep alone. Students are being encouraged to take tests more often and earlier in an attempt to secure the highest scores. However, several recent studies have concluded that repeat-takers do not improve their scores by large margins, and that students taking the test too early, don't benefit from the experience.
Examiner
Aspiring students may also find this recent study to be helpful. Admissions officers surveyed by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, placed a greater weight on grades and strength of high school curriculum than test scores in college admissions.
USA Today Educate
This is not to say that test scores don't matter, or that taking the test more than once won't be helpful to some students. Instead, this research serves as a reminder that college education need not rise and fall with the tide of standardized testing scores. Like everything else, standardized tests are but one hurdle in the very long road towards higher education and future professional success. They should be revered, but not necessarily feared.
Labels: standardized test and college admissions
|
|
|
|
