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Standardized Tests

Should the SAT be abolished for college admissions decisions?

Results so far:

Yes
41% 136 votes Total: 330 votes
No
59% 194 votes

Whites and Asians, because of their background, are unfairly favored in the SAT. Rich people are able to get their children tutored, and this unfairly increases their scores. The SAT has become more representative of one's ability to study for the SAT rather than its intended purpose.

The SAT is infamous for being biased. A classic example of this is the oarsman-regatta analogy. Students taking the SAT were asked to find the pair most similar to runner and marathon. Those of poorer ancestry were not as familiar with regattas, and their scoring percentage on that question was less than half of that of wealthy whites. Studies have show that there was a gap of up to 500 points between average scores depending on income and demographics with those of Caucasian or Asian ancestry scoring highest. Also note that this discrepancy was recorded using data for the older SATs; 500 points was a much greater gap back then.

The addition of the essay section affords more room for criticism. One professor was able to guess the grade within 50 points at least 90% of the time. When he inserted the word 'chimpanzee' randomly into the essay, the grade was boosted dramatically.

With such a biased and genuinely worthless test, it's no wonder top colleges are taking in more and more students that do not meet standards.

Learn more about this author, Dakota Killpack.
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Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:

Should the SAT be abolished for college admissions decisions?

Yes
  • 1 of 17

    by LaDonna Hatfield

    I cannot help but wonder where American citizens, especially teachers in public education, have gotten the idea that ...read more

  • 2 of 17

    by Ian Navas

    First, let's look at what the SAT is designed to measure. An aptitude test as defined in the dictionary, is supposed...read more

No
  • 1 of 21

    by Andrew Spriggs

    Crestmuth University is a school that prides itself for its early adoption of a policy that abandons the use of the S...read more

  • 2 of 21

    by Maria Clara Diniz

    Should SAT scores be abolished from college admissions? No. Should their place in the admission process be reconsider...read more

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