<p>I have a few questions regarding the SAT...</p>
<p>Why does college board not design an SAT that cannot be studied for?</p>
<p>Does the current SAT truly indicate a student's college readiness if one can simply study for it to improve?</p>
<p>Is the SAT intended to measure your studying work ethic or your college readiness?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I suppose it wouldn’t be easy to create one. I have always found it kind of depressing that apparently it can just be “studied for”, though. A few looks through the College Board blue book seems reasonable to me, just to get a feel for the test - but weeks or months of intensive studying I don’t understand.</p>
<p>well i hear so many stories of people increasing 400+ points…</p>
<p>you think they can’t design an unstudyable SAT anonymityy? That would explain it then lol</p>
<p>
This is easier said than done. I, for one, think they have done a pretty good job.
While I have heard of people increasing their scores several hundred points just by studying, I feel that in general most students find that they cannot “simply study for it to improve.”</p>
<p>However, perhaps this truly can indicate a student’s readiness for college. Most students probably wouldn’t have the work ethic needed to produce a significant increase in their scores. Those who are able to probably are the same folks who succeed in college.
</p>
<p>It’s intended to show your college readiness. Whether that actually happens or not, I don’t know, but see my point above about possible correlation.</p>
<p>Well, I must admit that I am not an intelligent person. I often feel inferior to those geniuses who surround me in AP and Honor classes. So many students around me are “math whizzes” or incredibly insightful literature fiends or advanced chemists. And while, I think, I don’t excell in any area of natural intelligence, I happen to have a relentless work ethic, that everyone should strive for. Without this perserverence, I might have a B- average and a low SAT score, but because of my driven nature to be the best, I work hard and get straight As (even if it means staying up until 5 AM to study for tests). What do you think a college really wants? An intelligent person who feels he is too godly to study, or an average joe who works hard to accomplish his goals? I’d pick the latter. </p>
<p>Without any preparation, I took a practice SAT out of the Collegeboard Blue Book. I scored a horrifying 1560 (560 math, 500 reading, 500 writing). My dreams of Harvard–shattered; this score would not get me anywhere but the community college down the street (pardon the hyperbole). With intensive studying, strategizing, and practicing over the next 3 months, I took the SAT and got a 2290. Had I just accepted my “real” score, I would not be this close to college acceptance.</p>
<p>Although I realize that a good GPA and a good SAT score will not guarantee admission to any school, these numbers bring me one step closer to being where I want to be. Besides, college is a time for learning, studying and hard work, so I think the purpose of the SAT is to demonstrate hard work, not natural intelligence.</p>
<p>Completely agree BHCANYC! Excellent post. Congrats on your grades and scores! Wish you the best in the future!</p>
<p>^lol, nice name.</p>
<p>But I fully do agree that hard work should be able to make up for lack of intelligence. It’s just that if you’re able to improve, that proves something. The best people of professional sports aren’t simply insanely talented: they also have work ethic. Rarely, if ever, do you find someone who gets by with natural ability alone. To me at least, if you’re able to improve yourself, that proves more than one who starts out that good but has no motivation to get better. </p>
<p>In short, its all fair game (at least if you don’t consider the ridiculous amount of money that some people spend on improving their scores).</p>