<p>Ok.... we all know that SAT is not really fair.... It doesn't really tell how well we are going to do in college..</p>
<p>BUT. Do colleges know this?</p>
<p>I think the colleges know that there are many factors that affect how a student performs on the SAT. For me, I didn't do so hot on the math section and couldn't raise my score much higher no matter how hard I tried. But I've always taken advanced level math courses (and currently AP Calc AB) and have maintained straight As in those courses. So I think the colleges realize that many bright students who perform well in school simply don't do well on the SAT, and therefore the colleges would prefer a student with a good GPA/slightly lower SAT score than the other way around. It makes sense to me, at least, that a GPA says more about you as a student than a one-time test score.</p>
<p>I have to diagree with your statements. First off one of the biggest problems in h.s are grade inflations. A 95 from one school is not the same as a 95 from another school. More competitive h.s are harder to get a higher gpa. My friend goes to some gateway school in a zone h.s and his average is a 93. He also has similar ubringing like me and acess to a library. Still when he took his SAT he was unable to get a score higher than 1450 even though he studied. I have a low gpa, in a competative h.s, yet i was able to score 400 higher. Also on regents test, he didnt seem to be get high grades either. </p>
<p>I personally dont like the SAT, but that is the only thing that is a constant for all students. Though your score can be dramatically impacted by your upbringing and your income, its the best method so far.
Also im not against grades. The best thing to have is high gpa and high sat scores</p>
<p>I think the CR sections are most unfair.. college success isn't based on knowing difficult vocabulary.</p>
<p>lol, I find CR to be the most fair and think I hit an 800 yesterday. The writing MC is actually the most subjective. CB's ideas of what constitutes an error and what doesn't are so
off base with the way most of use English.</p>
<p>I dont think its fair.the tests vary from time to time, some times harder and some times much easier, while the scores vary, actually I think, only slightly.</p>
<p>but neither SAT nor GPA is the only chance to reveal your academic ability, guess thats y colleges look in both.</p>
<p>The CR section is the most fair. Math & Writing sections are easily mastered if one takes a good SAT prep course. CR measures abilities developed over many years. There is no better equalizer at this time. APs & SAT IIs measure learned and memorized abilities to a large extent. The combination of SAT I & SAT II and/or AP tests is a great way to fairly compare competing college applicants. GPAs are a joke in many school systems and,therefore, are not a reliable basis for comparison since many schools either do not rank or have multiple students highly ranked. The real joke, in my opinion, are standardized test optional schools. This is done primarily to increase applications and not to correct some imaginary form of societal injustice. For example, compare Wake Forest's app count with other top fifty schools and you will see why WFU went test optional.</p>
<p>What kind of question is this? Is it fair?! There's a reason why its called a standardized test. Besides, what difference does it make if the test you take today is easier than the test you take next week? Even if they vary in difficulty, they would still be curved accordingly. What do you want the admissions process to be based on? Your GPA? We all know how reliable that can be. besides, you should be grateful that the schools in the H.S have a very holistic admissions approach. If you were in more populous countries a number will DEFINE who you are and who you'll be. Stop complaining.</p>
<p>I think it shows nothing regarding how well you will do in college. it does not show work ethic, commitment, anything like that. some people just do really well on it.</p>
<p>HOWEVER, it does show, to an extent, how well you can reason and what level of stuff you can handle. I think, at least. It gauges how well you can reason through things. math, if you can tell what is right/wrong in a sentence.. if you aren't good at this stuff, chances are you wont be able to provide the analysis and thinking required for princeton, etc. thats my POV.</p>
<p>i think it tests the clarity of your thought process very well. the problem is when people
assume the SAT to be a comprehensive intelligence test. for example, Einstein's thoughts were
creative and complex, but the SAT's simple q's wouldn't have revealed that</p>
<p>IMO the ACT is a test that reflects a students ability to study and remember the junk they learned in high school. In contrast, the SAT is a test which indicates a students ability to infer answers and use logic to eliminate seemingly plausible choices. </p>
<p>I feel that the ACT is a good indicator of how a student will do in college, in terms of grades, yet the SAT shows how a student will do in the real world, where there is no text book . </p>
<p>I am a pretty bright student but I was lazy the past two years. My cumulative gpa is now only a 2.8 , and that is of course a major problem. However, my June SAT was a 1960 with a 12 essay, and I feel yesterday that I was in the 2200 range . This is due to my logic ability, I can see that x=y and get the answer, and I mean this not only for math, but English as well. However, my friend who has a 4.3 gpa, who is incredibly book smart, cant break the 1850 mark, mainly because he doesn't have the inference abilities, but rather the ability to learn and recite. </p>
<p>I am in no way insulting anyone or either test, i just feel that each tests different aspects, and that most colleges realize this. I dont think either can fully predict a persons work, as with myself, my gpa is in the sewer, and this year I have straight A's while maintaining my ECs and doing the usual college junk.</p>
<p>This thread seems somewhat ridiculous. Whether it is fair or not, it doesn't really matter because if you want to go to a school that requires it, you must take it. I think everyone acknowledges that it is not a perfect test and by no means measures intelligence but it does help to compare one student to another. As for the comment about high GPA with a lower math SAT, AP exams are also good for comparisons when a student has lower SAT scores with a rigorous schedule.</p>
<p>I'm going to wait for my score before I decide if it's fair. ;)</p>
<p>And you are gonna tell the colleges you are not sending your scores since SAT isn't fair? Good plan. :P</p>
<p>Wasn't there a thread a month ago about colleges considering lowering the weight of SAT scores because the main result of standardized tests was a booming test-prep industry?</p>
<p>well depends on who you ask, imo for the people who do well will say that it's fair, and vice versa for the people who doesn't do so well (like me) :/</p>
<p>Though I do see a point in it, because it puts everyone on the same basis, but with GPA, some schools could inflate it so... I mean I would probably get like a 2.0 gpa at some really prestigious and hard high school and on the other hand I could probably get like a perfect 4.0 in a "poor" school.</p>
<p>hm..I think it's fair.. but I don't think it's a good assessment of how well you'll do in college (as my SAT prep teacher says: It only assesses how well you do for the 1st sem/quarter of college)</p>
<p>Colleges understand the problems with any testing method. On the other hand, given the large number of applicants, they need a defendable way to eliminate people. And at the end points the SAT is probably predictive.</p>
<p>to some people out there with lower GPAs, its like a second chance to get into some colleges.</p>
<p>Life's never fair.</p>