Colleges should de-emphasize test scores

[tanveer149]

<p>I agree with indiejimmy. Besides how else would a college compare international students and domestic students with all the different grading systems?</p>

[Hunt]

<p>“I do think SAT IIs are fairer, though, and I would put more emphasis on forcing everyone across the board to take them.”</p>

<p>This is an interesting point. Do we need better standardized tests that do a better job of showing mastery of academic subjects?</p>

[atrophicwhisper]

<p>

This is an interesting point. Do we need better standardized tests that do a better job of showing mastery of academic subjects?

</p>

<p>Well, if we had a more nationalized system of education like Canada or the UK, there wouldn’t be a need for the ACT/SAT. If we had that kind of standardization- where within our classes we take national tests that determined our grades in the class- then this “college readiness” bull that the SAT and ACT try to measure wouldn’t need to be disputed.</p>

[tokenadult]

<p>

They should emphasize striking good looks imho.

</p>

<p>Perhaps they already do. </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/225541-can-your-physical-appearance-affect-admissions.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/225541-can-your-physical-appearance-affect-admissions.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[tokenadult]

<p>What can colleges emphasize more that is as comparable among all applicants as test scores are?</p>

[chubeebo]

<p>

They should emphasize striking good looks imho.

</p>

<p>heck, if colleges did this, then my list would have become all safeties and matches. ha-ha, Harvard can’t reject me. jk.</p>

[Sligh_Anarchist]

<p>^^</p>

<p>Says the guy named “chubee”? Nice. ;)</p>

[lchal1]

<p>

No. Colleges should emphasize test scores twice as much as they currently do. I can’t stand people who say “Test scores just show who is a good test-taker” – Yeah, and the Olympics just show who the best athletes are. And the World Series shows what the best baseball team is. Guess what? There are going to be a lot of tests in college, grad school, and pretty much throughout the rest of your life (though they may come in different formats). Stop trying to attribute your poor test scores to the fact that you can’t “take tests.” Stop complaining just because you aren’t as smart as your grades seem to indicate and happen to suck at thinking outside the box and under pressure.

This is a good point. I actually think they should emphasize tests MORE. A lot more. Right now, the top schools (mostly ivies i mean) look almost solely at pure gpa – the notion that colleges “look at the gpa in light of your courseload and your school’s offerings” is bullsh1t…if you take 1 ap course while in the IB diploma program (ib courses are more difficult than ap courses, including the much more open-ended tests, and the diploma program has a TON of extra requirements like essays, classes, creativity/action/service hours requirements, etc.) but get a 3.7/4.0 they won’t take you seriously like they would somebody with only 3-4 ap’s and no IB but a 4.6 weighted gpa (or something closer to a 4.0 unweighted).</p>

[atrophicwhisper]

<p>

ib courses are more difficult than ap courses

</p>

<p>No, not necessarily. There’s been a lot of debate over that (I can’t find a specific thread, but there have been discussions on this.) </p>

<p>

.if you take 1 ap course while in the IB diploma program . . . but get a 3.7/4.0 they won’t take you seriously like they would somebody with only 3-4 ap’s and no IB but a 4.6 weighted gpa (or something closer to a 4.0 unweighted).

</p>

<p>Says who? Guidance counselors can put how hard your course load is.</p>

[tokenadult]

<p>I’m not sure I agree with the overall statement in post #28, having just been to my town’s Exploring College Options joint program, nor do I agree with the premise that in all cases IB is harder than AP. (It can be, but how each program is implemented depends on the particular high school.)</p>

[bluebayou]

<p>IMO, the cc focus on testing is overblown. As one college counselor likes to say: “In admissions, tests don’t count as much as you/we think but, unfortunately, they could for more than you/we would like.”</p>

<p>The problem with one-size-fits all-standardized testing is that it will find kids of a certain personality type, to the detriment of those not of that personality type. </p>

<p>

Results of multiple regression analyses indicated that, after controlling for classroom achievement and gender, the personality variables could explain 21% of the verbal score variance and 8% of the mathematics score variance. The implication is that the existence of personality differences is one reason for not using SAT scores in isolation from actual achievement data when the purpose is to describe the achievement or achievement potential of individuals or groups.

</p>

<p>[Relationships</a> of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Personality Characteristics and Self-Reported Academic Problems and Skill Ratings with Scholastic Aptitude Test Scores – Schurr et al. 48 (1): 187 – Educational and Psychological Measurement](<a href=“http://epm.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/48/1/187]Relationships”>http://epm.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/48/1/187)</p>

[tokenadult]

<p>Obligatory reference when personality testing is mentioned: </p>

<p>[Amazon.com:</a> The Cult of Personality Testing: How Personality Tests Are Leading Us to Miseducate Our Children, Mismanage Our Companies, and Misunderstand Ourselves: Annie Murphy Paul: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Cult-Personality-Testing-Miseducate-Misunderstand/dp/0743280725/]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Cult-Personality-Testing-Miseducate-Misunderstand/dp/0743280725/)</p>

[eeeeric]

<p>but do you think the tests are fair to all?</p>

[tokenadult]

<p>What do you mean by “fair”?</p>

[eeeeric]

<p>does everyone have an equal opportunity in scoring high, regardless of social class, race, wealth, etc.</p>

[tokenadult]

<p>Anyone who marks all the correct answer choices on the SAT Reasoning Test (or on the ACT) can score high. Certainly people of every race can score high. (Really, there is just one human race, because we are all related, but that is especially the subject of another thread </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/441477-fastest-growing-ethnic-category-great-colleges-race-unknown.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/441477-fastest-growing-ethnic-category-great-colleges-race-unknown.html&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>and not directly related to the issue of college admission tests.)</p>