By Jaylyn Preslicka, Staff Reporter
Since 1926 when it was used to test army recruits, the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) has caused stress and unnecessary anxiety in students all across the country. While SAT scores should be taken seriously and are not something to slack on, their weight in depending on whether a student gets into university should be lowered.
The SAT is composed of an English, Math, and optional essay section taken by most upperclassmen. Many prepare for the SAT months in advance by taking classes, hiring tutors, and spending mass amounts of money on prep books.
For many students across various levels of intellect, testing is a challenge. Most of this is due to test anxiety, something that is not affected by a student’s intelligence level.
According to a report by the American Test Anxiety Association, “16-20% of students have high test anxiety, making this the most prevalent scholastic impairment in our schools today. Another 18% are troubled by moderately-high test anxiety.”
This only covers the amount of students who have high to moderate test anxiety; some are not accounted for. While it is good to have a healthy fear of failure, many students succumb to the pressure of their parents, teachers, colleges, and peers.
“Test anxiety has heavily affected my performance taking standardized exams,” junior Julianna Igama said. “Although SAT classes have improved my test taking skills, I'm still anxious about the actual exam because I have no idea what's actually going to be on it. And after taking an SAT course myself, I can say that I feel more prepared, but just as anxious.”
The difference between AP tests and SATs goes beyond the content. With AP tests, a student has all year to learn the material and understand how the test will be taken. Besides the optional classes offered by some schools, SATs are not taught in the curriculum; the information is obtained by spending the extra money outside of school for a class. While AP tests are still nerve wracking, the student can walk in knowing that they had every opportunity to learn the material and everything was covered in the class. With SATs, it’s hit or miss. AP tests are also more catered to people interested in the subject. The majority of students taking the class aren’t there just to look well for college.
“I feel somewhat prepared for the SAT as a sophomore. Going to tutoring has helped me a lot”, said sophomore Shellah Gabasan. “Studying this far ahead does make a difference because it gets you more prepared for what is to come.”
Students with a more disposable income score much higher on the SATs. The 2020 SAT is $49.50 ($64.50 with essay) and for some families, too much to sacrifice. While fee waivers are available, the criteria does not apply to all students.
According to the Washington Post, the average score of a student who lives in a $20k a year household scores a 1326 while a household that makes $200k+ receives an average score of 1714. As the average income increases, so does the score. More resources are offered to the wealthier students due to their expendable income. Colleges need to take into consideration the majority of the students, not just the few wealthy with high scores.
The SAT has been around for decades and will not completely disappear for a long time to come. That being said, colleges should be more considerate with students on the lower end of the test score spectrum. It seems that, in most cases, colleges forget that students have various issues that might render their score inaccurate.
While effective in evaluating a student's overall knowledge on certain subjects, it lacks the intimacy that AP’s have to offer.
Comments