truly excellent post! I wish your daughter well.
In a traditional year (which this is not), I think test scores add an important element to a college application. As an UMC white female from a private school, D20 was (rightfully) held to a high standard in terms of admissions. She studied for the SAT in a slow and steady manner beginning the summer before junior year, took it once, was happy with her score (high 700s verbal, high 600s math) and decided not to retake it in an attempt to increase her math score by (at most) 20-30 points. Her scores were in line with her grades, her previous standardized test scores, and what we knew her strengths and abilities to be.
The fact that she studied for the SAT is consistent with who she is (and reflects our values as a family): when you want to achieve something, you work hard, prepare and set yourself up for success. I think thereâs value in knowing that it isnât a matter of âstudying a lotâ, itâs a matter of âstudying untilââuntil you know the material or until youâre satisfied that further effort will yield diminishing levels of return and/or come at the expense of something else you value. My Dâs scores wouldnât have earned her a place at the most competitive colleges, and nor would her grades (a low 90s [A-] average on a 100 point scale). We were fine with this. She made choices through HS that reflect who she is: a smart, strong student with a lot of hobbies, interests and friends. She decided that tippy-top grades and SAT scores would require a level of sacrifice that wasnât true to who she was. She had great options for college and is very happy with where she landed.
Iâm not disputing that wealthier kids will do better on the SAT because of prep and better K-12 schooling, etc., and I also think that too many people try to game the system with extended time. Itâs not a perfect system by any means. However, I think the idea that scores are a hurdle to the college our kids âshouldâ attend is a form of entitled thinking. Colleges can and should take into account that kids from challenging or low-income backgrounds should not be held to the same standards as wealthier peers, but the ability to prepare, study and work hard is absolutely something colleges should look for in all their applicants. Grades are certainly a big part of the picture, and particularly for kids of privilege, I think test scores are, too.
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I do not think we can say who benefited and who lost until the results are in. I certainly understand the argument though. Yes, some suburbs are less affluent, but mine is ok.
You know the argument against essays, donât you? I understand essays tell something about an applicant, but tests do as well. Most colleges clearly think so, for a long, long time. How much more weight test scores have than essays at the institutions you worked for, if essays only account for 10% or so?
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I donât agree with the premise of every kid being stressed. When my kids were tiny there was a movie called Race to Nowhere. Never saw it (one had to pay). But the premise was, kids are stressed by societal pressure and often get so stressed that it can lead to suicide. My kids 1st grade teacher often quoted this movie. Yep. Well itâs been about ten years down the road that teacher and many others would not meet the needs of kids who were truly and out of the gate advanced. My kids went to another school, skipped a few subject grades in math (one two years and one four years) and were fine. There are still people who think their kids are great in those subjects.
I lived in Canada. The level of competition and the number of kids applying to colleges is not the same as in the US. That does not mean that there is too much pressure or anything else. Just different systems.
But the US looks at holistic admissions ( the whole person). I personally donât have an issue with that. People lead full lives so why not consider all that people do including community service, arts, sports etc. Again, thatâs the US system. It has been this way for maybe 50+ years.
Not as familiar with the UK system. To compare Brown, Columbia and Stanford to Oxford is like saying the view is better from Paris than Hong Kong. Comparing them makes no sense as some are in the US and all that entails and Oxford has tutors and all that entails.
Seems like some folks feel like they have to categorize things as better rather than different. Weâre pro and con type of people. See pros and cons everywhere.
To clarify, essays donât count for 10%, but most people do not move the needle with essays - from my experience. The ones that do, deserve the move - up or down.
Academics - 50%
Tests - 30%
The Rest (everything left to include essays) - 20%
The world according to me
Note that there is a different âwho lostâ based on lack of SAT/ACT/etc. availability (as opposed to test-optional admission policies): those who were trying for merit scholarships that either are awarded at least partially based on SAT/ACT/etc. scores, or are awarded competitively with a minimum SAT/ACT/etc. score to qualify.
For example, students in 11th grade in 2020-2021 who are unable to get a PSAT or SAT seat have no chance of qualifying for National Merit scholarships.
Wouldnât the test scores do the exact same thing for some other kids?
From your knowledge/experience, what percentage of the people who wanted to test were not able to test 1x? Yes, scholarship loss is unfortunate.
How do these weights look if the school is test optional (in a normal year)?
This was the normal year. This year, the 30% weight would be adjusted to the other two areas. Again, this is opinion, so please no fact checking, debatingâŠ
And apparently itâs been a real mess for the PSAT this fall with many schools cancelling the test. You probably couldnât even go to another school in the district to take it due to Covid restrictions on seating (and we know that from direct conversations with our own district) and forget about getting to another state!
Students can use the SAT (thru June 2021) to qualify for NM via an Alternate Entry pathway: https://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/images/gid2/editor_documents/alternateentry2022.pdf?gid=2&pgid=61
This is similar to what Chicago Public School Class of 2021 students were able to do, as they missed the fall 2019 PSAT administration due to a teachers strike.
Yes but how would you do it - in your opinion. Donât worry your answer will be safe from either debate or fact checking LOL. Not even sure how the latter can be done . . .
It is not just that. Someone who may have taken the test once but was not satisfied because they were just short of a scholarship threshold that they are targeting may be expected to try again with some preparation to try to hit the threshold. But if all available test dates are cancelled, that student would no longer be able to try for that scholarship.
In any test optional year, to include this year, I would give 10-20% more to academics and 10-20% more to âThe Rest.â
However, 2020-2021 11th graders are likely to find that all PSAT and SAT dates that can be used for NM purposes are at risk of cancellation.
You ainât kidding. I coached during that period.
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The scholarship conversation is not part of my discussion. There are others here who know more and have stronger opinions than I have. Feel free to leave me out of it.
So for those that did submit test scores, would you expect the original percentages to remain intact with test scores accounting for 30% of an applicantâs profile?
(I understand itâs just a guessâŠnot gonna hold you to itđ)