"It has taken 20 years to forget the trauma of that damned test, and looking up my scores would be like going back to Vietnam." - Conan O'Brien on Taking the SATs. .
The SATs that claim to predict a student's college success are biased putting the non-native English speakers at a disadvantage. Also, taking in consideration the fact that not all brilliant students perform well in tests, and the low scores could keep potential students from getting into the college of their choice, SATs should be not be used as a tool in college process. .
October through March, senior year, is nothing but a huge chaos in all high schools. Why? Because it's the SAT season! Many students lose hope ahead of time that their college application will be rejected because of their poor performance in SATs. Students usually tend to freak out when tests are around the corner, but when it comes to SATs, everything boils up to the state of frustration, nervousness and anxiety. As glorifying as it might seem to colleges, SAT tends to be a nightmare to high school kids. Preparing for the worst seems more prominent than giving your best. In an environment so tense, even the brightest students could procrastinate and not perform to the best of their abilities. What if a student just never performs well in tests but has other natural skills to carry him to success? With scores towards the lower margin, he could then not qualify as someone competitive enough, which definitely is a loss to colleges and not just the student himself. Not using SAT scores in college process could increase chances of getting accepted as colleges would then pay more attention to your individual self rather than just your test performance.
When SAT was first administered to a group of students in 1926, it held the sole purpose of measuring one's innate ability rather than knowledge acquired through schooling. It was used to identify slow learners so that teachers could give them special attention; it was to identify talented students from underprivileged backgrounds, not the abilities they might have developed through school.
