<p>Hi, I'm doing a report about the SAT/ACT being unfair to many students. However, I need to find sources opposing this idea (People that support the SAT/ACT) The problem is that I haven't been able to find very much on people who support standardized testing towards college admissions. </p>
<p>I need one really good source that supports MC testing so I can bash it!!!! </p>
<p>Are there any websites (that are credible) which advocate SAT rights?!?!?! </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Just curious, what evidence are you using to support your arguement? I don’t have any websites for you but I am intrigued!</p>
<p>Well this is the way I look at it although I am not a “reliable source”. </p>
<p>Bascially, everyone takes the test, so it is a way to compare students on the same scale. For instance, Student A may go to a school that offers very difficult classes taught by difficult teachers, and they may get a B in the class due to difficulty whilst Student B can take the same courses and may receive an A doing nothing. It all just depends on your school/teachers you receive. Is that fair? No, but it is used as a valuable piece of admissions and Student A may not make the cut due to his hard classes.</p>
<p>The SAT is taken by nearly every competitive student, and is fairly consistent on difficulty. I believe it actually tests the knowledge or ability to work hard. </p>
<p>It is no coincidence that those applying to the ivies have really good SAT scores (the best of the best) whilst those who are applying to state schools (which this isn’t a bad thing at ALL) have a variety of scores, most of which are average. </p>
<p>It puts everyone onto the same playing field and allows those with harder teachers to display their true talents. In my opinion, it is evening the playing field.</p>
<p>Here’s some links I found by doing a simply google search…</p>
<p>[Study:</a> SAT a good measure of IQ | Science Blog](<a href=“http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/node/2297]Study:”>http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/node/2297)
[Studies:</a> SAT writing portion good predictor of grades - USATODAY.com](<a href=“http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-04-24-sat_N.htm]Studies:”>http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-04-24-sat_N.htm)</p>
<p>The next article shows both sides and shows the positive side of the SAT’s beginning on page 3.
[Should</a> SATs Matter? - TIME](<a href=“http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,101321-1,00.html]Should”>http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,101321-1,00.html)</p>
<p>I’ll allow you to do the rest. Just google the phrase!</p>
<p>Can’t you use the ETS/College Board? The ETS publishes reports every year that analyze the effectiveness of the SAT in predicting college success.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Thousands of colleges not only support the tests, they require them of thousands of applicants per college each year, and have done so for decades. They literally support ETS by creating a market for the tests.</p>
<p>Looking for political support for the SAT is like asking who supports television or marriage or eating meat. It’s so pervasive that only its absence, or opposition to it, are noteworthy. Supporters don’t need to say anything. </p>
<p>If you want studies of SAT, there is a series, by now into the thousands, of statistical reports by ETS “validating” the exams and comparing them to everything imaginable. Any university with a large school of education is likely to have some of that series in the library.</p>
<p>Thank You to everyone that responded. </p>
<p>I will check the ETS website. I don’t know why I never bothered to look it up. I guess the fact that SAT is synonymous with HS kids/College apps makes it subliminally supported as was mentioned. Even if people don’t like it, it shows how much it is ingrained into people here on CC and in academics! </p>
<p>Thanks Again !</p>
<p>interestingly enough… i’ve never heard of a viable alternative to standardized tests</p>
<p>^i second that.</p>
<p>and don’t patronise us. just because we think standardised testing is a good idea doesn’t mean we do because ETS has duped us. even if that’s not what you meant to say, that’s certainly how it sounded.</p>
<p>^Zupchurch</p>
<p>I like the article about the writting. Really I’ve questioned, do you need a big vocabulary (SC) to do well in college. Of course you need to know how to use context clues, but w/e…</p>
<p>And not everyone is into math.</p>
<p>However, writing is always needed.</p>
<p>Every US university that requires the SAT/ACT implicitly advocates for it. People tend to forget that American universities, on the whole, do believe the SAT is a valid and legitimate measure of academic ability, for whatever reason. If Harvard saw no value in it, why would they continue to require it?</p>
<p>^ US News Ranks. Bates college said started the SAT optional movement in 1984 and in 1990’s they published data that said the difference b/t submitters and non submitters was very minimal ( GPA has 0.01 lower) But then again these schools are small LAC’s. </p>
<p>IMO, there should an achievement based test (test based on what you learn in HS). I worked really hard in HS but did poorly on the SAT…I think it would be more fair towards low income kids that don’t have the advantages that some people have…but that’s just my view.</p>
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<p>Why do you think Reed College requires the SAT?
[Reed</a> College Admission Office](<a href=“http://web.reed.edu/apply/news_and_articles/college_rankings.html]Reed”>http://web.reed.edu/apply/news_and_articles/college_rankings.html)</p>
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<p>Disadvantaged kids often have disrupted lives that make it hard to do school work consistently. However, it only take four hours on a Saturday morning to demonstrate your abilities on the SAT. Studies have shown that expensive prep courses barely help at all.</p>
<p>Here’s what the Reed president said about requiring the SAT:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/18/opinion/18diver.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/18/opinion/18diver.html</a></p>
<p>A high SAT score is a way for a student who attends a mediocre high school to stand out. In this way, it does level the playing field. I think this is especially important for science-oriented kids who don’t have access to robotics clubs, science competitions, etc., to prove their ability.</p>
<p>As for low-income kids that score low on the SATs (not all do), they might not be ready for a four year university. It’s not their fault if they haven’t gotten a decent education due to rotten schools, family life, etc. But it might be better to send them to a community college to catch up, before sending them on. it doesn’t make sense for universities to offer remedial classes, because it’s so expensive to do it at that point. And it’s much more likely for kids to drop out if they’re not properly prepared. Who does that benefit?</p>
<p>Here’s another thread I found for the sake of the discussion with both opposition and support…
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/396915-interesting-look-sat.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/396915-interesting-look-sat.html</a></p>
<p>The article seems to assume that adcoms don’t know the tests’ limitations; they do!</p>