Standardized test scores play a huge role for students planning to attend college. Colleges use these scores to make decisions regarding student admission and financial aid or scholarship opportunities. While many argue that higher test scores predict student success in college, others feel test scores are poor predictors of student success. We feel standardized test scores should not be the determining factor for college admission because they do not assess the student's work ethic, leadership ability, or professional behavior, which are all qualities needed to be successful in the workforce after college. .
A strong work ethic is needed to be successful in college and when students graduate and move forward into the workforce. To demonstrate a positive work ethic, one needs a strong sense of integrity and the ability to work well with others. This is accomplished by demonstrating a strong commitment to ethical practices so others will be more willing to share in the task required to produce quality work (3). Because standardized tests are timed, "students may be encouraged to see intelligence as a function of how quickly people can do things." Further, these tests use a multiple-choice format and may teach students that because someone else already knows the right answer to a problem, there is no need to participate in "interpretive activity" with others (Kohn). Standardized tests cannot predict a student's work ethic. They have no way of determining a student's integrity, ability to work well with others, or capability of producing quality work. High school grade point average (GPA) would be a more accurate way of determining a student's work ethic because it is a collaboration of a student's work over several years, not just over a four hour timed period. According to the outcomes of a study conducted at the University of Miami, students with higher high school were more likely to finish college and graduate school and earn a higher salary ten years after high school (4).
