The SAT is Good
Courtesy of Hult International Business School
By WILLIAM INOUE ‘27
As a student currently, it is impossible to go about your academic years without hearing the words “standardized testing” at least once. This form of testing that includes specific and unified testing materials is one that either people hate or love. This paper will exclusively discuss the SAT, arguably the best example with the largest sample size for a standardized test. So how did it even start? In 1900, the College Board was founded by the presidents of twelve leading universities to standardize the admissions process. This forced New England boarding schools like ours to adopt a uniform curriculum. 1901, the first College Board exams were in essay format for specific subjects. Yet, the entire process took a turn in 1905, when French psychologist Alfred Binet was credited for inventing the idea of “IQ tests” that he claimed could measure one’s intelligence. This creation led Carl Brigham in 1923 to take both Binet’s IQ tests and the IQ tests of World War I to administer his version of the intelligence test, the SAT, that we know today. While multiple changes have been made to the SAT since then, it has remained largely the same. It is still an aptitude test for Reading & Writing and Mathematics. Now, the number of students taking the SAT is almost the same as that of seniors graduating from high school. When the amount of people “forced” to do something is so high, there ought to be controversies surrounding it.
That’s why the statement “standardized testing is necessary” generates so much controversy. The root issue of the controversy derives from the fact that not everyone successfully takes standardized tests. It is the harsh yet simple truth that people dislike things they are not good at. From the large albeit limited sample size of people I talked to on campus, I found a direct correlation between high scores and enjoying the SAT and low scores and disliking the SAT. The seniors scoring above the 1500s stated that the SAT was only a single component in their college application, and taking it wasn’t something they dreaded, nor was it something they felt the need to complain about. On the other hand, seniors scoring around 1100s and 1200s would come up with grand arguments about why the test was wrong, and why colleges shouldn’t require SAT scores. Despite that, I heard criticisms against the SAT from top and bottom-scoring students.
One such criticism is the way students prepare for the SAT. Since the entire point of the SAT was to have something standardized, it created the side effect that all tests became predictable. With decades of testing questions as samples, some institutions can reverse engineer SAT questions, giving students studying there an unfair advantage when taking the test. With the introduction of artificial intelligence, the problem becomes even more severe, as I have seen firsthand AI predicting questions with horrifying accuracy. Institutions would then sell courses that they teach using the questions that they expected and prepare students for the SAT. Yet, the problem is that these courses are often extremely expensive, with some costing upwards of four thousand dollars for two weeks. People argue that it generates inequality between the test takers as some can afford the classes while others are not.
I argue that this is not the case. I believe that certain classes you can take to prepare are not “unfair,” nor are they ruining the test. Countless free online resources are equally good, if not better, than the classes you can take. Khan Academy and even Bluebook themselves offer questions, explanations, and sample tests that you can do. Addressing the financial aspect, I agree that students with more economic resources will do relatively better on the test simply due to their access to resources. Yet, this is the same with every other aspect of the college application. We must still see the SAT as a small part of the college application where interviews and essays, among many other things, are still at the forefront. Students who have a strong economic background will be able to take classes. Still, at the same time, they will also be able to find educational consultants to edit their essays, connections to find internship opportunities, and many others. It is illogical to say that the entire SAT is unfair because some students have access to financial resources while others do not.
Furthermore, many people miss the point that while these classes can teach you how to take the SAT, they cannot take it in your place. In front of the SAT, everyone is equal whether you have spent thousands of dollars or no money. You still have the same questions and environment.
Another criticism against the SAT and standardized testing is its inability to capture students’ creativity and personality. People argue that since the SAT is all the same for everyone taking it, it would squash any form of individuality since the test is the same for everyone. A teacher at my previous school would preach this argument every day to us before and during class. His argument went as follows: we should remove any form of test with a guideline as students should have the creative power to express their academic power in ways that benefit them, and students at school should be able to show their academic strengths over their weaknesses. I agree with some of his arguments, such as when he argues schools should have tests with fewer guidelines, but I disagree with most of his arguments.
People are too involved with the SAT to see the larger picture. Essentially, the SAT is used modernly as part of your college application alongside everything else you submit. The common argument that the SAT ruins individuality crumbles as people realize how much else there is in your college application other than the SAT: the essays, interviews, and letters of recommendation are more than sufficient opportunities to show your sense of individuality. Beyond that, there is almost a need for one section of the college application that is uniform among students. Colleges, with the number of applicants they receive every year, have to have some scale that can measure a large group of students at once. This measurement would have to include something standardized amongst all applicants, and that can be used to differentiate the students. In that sense, the SAT is necessary as it essentially sets all students to the same parameters and lets colleges weigh them on the same scale.
The SAT generates so much controversy amongst students, parents, and educators. Yet, from its origin to now, it has always been a necessary test for students and colleges alike. Common arguments include that the test is unfair to students who had test preparation versus the ones who didn’t, as people do not realize test preparation can only prepare you to a certain extent. In front of the test, all are equal. I am an avid supporter of standardized testing as I find joy in breaking down, understanding the nature of a test, and doing well on it. I hope everyone reading this has the best of luck on their journey through standardized testing.
