Abolishing the ACT and SAT

by Wesley Calawerts

Like many students, I have dreaded the thought of having to worry about standardized testing, specifically the ACT. Thinking about the fact that one test could help determine if you deserve to reach your goals post-high school is a scary thought of many students. The ACT and SAT have been used for years by colleges to try to assess student ability and potential and if they should be accepted to said colleges. When examining the usefulness of the college entrance exams, one should consider that the ACT and SAT should be abolished because they cause unnecessary amounts of stress and anxiety onto students, some colleges are already making score submissions optional, and they do not effectively predict or represent a student’s potential or willingness to learn.

Before covering said reasons, it would be beneficial to understand why supporters of these tests want them to remain. Advocates of the ACT and SAT suggest that the tests can determine student ability, along with motivating them to be successful. According to a peerreviewed journal, some studies have shown that there is a link between ACT scores and general cognitive ability (Koenig, 2008) It is reasonable to believe that these tests can at some level showcase a correlation between high ACT or SAT scores with student ability Coinciding with ability, supporters of these tests also cite that they promote student motivation. As claimed by the makers of the ACT, “The ACT test motivates students to perform to their best ability” (ACT, n.d. para. 1). One can understand that standardized testing would motivate students to do well on those tests, especially if they had an important role in college applications. Overall, it is fair to conclude that there is some connection between ACT scores and students’ ability, along with knowing that these tests can impact students’ motivation to perform as best they can.

Even with these reasons, the ACT and SAT should still be abolished, one reason being that these tests cause unnecessary stress and anxiety to students. Test anxiety affects 16-20% of students, according to Knowles (2022). Test anxiety can be defined as, “a combination of physical symptoms and emotional reactions that interfere with your ability to perform well on tests” (The Learning Center, n.d, para. 2). Statistically speaking, many students would not be able to perform at their best while taking these tests. Knowles spoke from personal experience and mentioned that she felt out of balance with her typical routine before taking these tests, ultimately causing her more anxiety (2022). She also felt tired from pressure while taking these tests, worrying if she would be able to receive scholarships, and if she would be able to go to her dream school if she did poorly on them. While the ACT and SAT may motivate students to work to their best ability, that does not necessarily mean that they will. Test anxiety from these tests can diminish their ability to do their best. One could argue that test anxiety can affect students while taking normal school exams as well, and while this is true, it does not seem like it would as much. With tests for normal high school classes, students learn and focus on the material of a specific unit over time, and then are tested on it. Being tested on something specific taught and learned over multiple days or weeks would likely cause less test anxiety because the student is familiar with it. Taking the ACT or SAT would likely cause more test anxiety because these tests contain many possible subjects that the students may not be certain with, along with being tests that heavily influence what colleges those students could be attending, increasing anxiety. he amount of stress and anxiety put onto students from these tests are not needed, and students dealing with test anxiety are unlikely to perform as well as they could.

Along with stress and anxiety, the ACT and SAT should be abolished because they are already becoming less relevant. Due to COVID-19 and everything that has transpired because of it, several colleges are no longer requiring ACT and SAT score submissions (Knowles, 2022). Some colleges have also made that decision earlier. “In January 2016, the Harvard Graduate School expressed support for the test-optional concept by including it on a list of methods colleges should consider in the name of reducing test-related stress” (Wake Forest University, n.d, para. 3). Schools showing support for making the tests optional even before the pandemic show that there has been interest in reducing the role these tests have for quite some time. As a result of the pandemic, UW schools are no longer requiring ACT or SAT scores (University of Wisconsin-Madison, n.d.) An unpublished online survey gave further insight on this topic For the question, “Do you think colleges should require ACT/SAT score submissions?” 10% voted yes, while 90% voted no, out of 20 respondents (online survey, November 17, 2022), as show in Figure 1.

The data from this survey was mostly contributed by students in the state of Wisconsin, and shows that students, along with some colleges, believe that submitting scores should be optional. Since many colleges are already not requiring score submissions, the next step to benefit students everywhere would be to abolish the ACT and SAT altogether.

Finally, the ACT and SAT do not accurately represent student’s potential and effort, and grades overall are a more accurate indicator. A study done at Chicago State University found that the ACT does not accurately predict college grades. This was demonstrated with the class of 1992, which had the highest average ACT score in the study, but poorest academic performance, compared to other classes in the study (Paszczyk, 1994). As evidenced in the study, ACT scores do not determine college grades. High school grades are also a better predictor for college success, when compared to ACT scores. According to a peer reviewed journal, high school GPA’s connection with college graduation is stronger than ACT scores are with college graduation (Allensworth, 2020). One could reason that one of the reasons why colleges like the ACT and SAT is because that they are seen as objective, and that high schools around the country are taking the same test. The research done in the study however shows that grades are all around a better indicator (Allensworth, 2020).

In regards to student potential, the unpublished online survey asked if the 20 participants believe the ACT and SAT are fair assessments on student ability and potential, and brought the results of 20% voting yes, with 80% voting no, showing that the majority of students view the tests as not accurate assessments (online survey, November 17, 2022).

Coinciding with this idea, Wake Forest University went test-optional in 2008 and believes that “… the measure of your intelligence and potential requires a deeper dive” (Wake Forest University, n.d., para. 1). Strauss (2019) mentions that Wake Forest University is a top-30 national university, so this certainly shows that their perspective should definitely be one to consider, and that these scores should not matter as much as they do. After this policy was implemented, the school found that academic achievement was not different between students who submitted scores, and those who did not (Wake Forest University, n.d.) Wake Forest University also mentioned that from Fall 2008 to Fall 2018, ethnic diversity increased by 68% in the undergraduate population. Though these standardized tests are meant to assess the ability of a student, focusing on grades would be more accurate going forward.

In order to more accurately assess a student in the college application process, the ACT and SAT should be abolished. They both cause stress and anxiety that students do not need, colleges are already making submissions optional, and they do not accurately predict students grades, potential, or ability The ACT and SAT are used to help colleges assess students, but a more efficient and better way going forward would be to remove these tests from the picture entirely

References

ACT. (n.d.). About the ACT test. https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-andservices/the-act-educator/the-act-test.html#order-reg-materials

Allensworth, E. M., & Clark, K. (2020). High school GPAs and ACT scores as predictors of college completion: Examining assumptions about consistency across high schools. Educational Researcher, 49(3), 198-211 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3102/0013189X20902110

Knowles, M. (2022, January 31). Future or failure: Why we should abolish the SAT and ACT. The Heritage Herald. https://heritageherald.com/2022/01/31/future-or-failure-why-weshould-abolish-the-sat-and-act/

Koenig, K. A., Frey, M. C., & Detterman, D. K. (2008). ACT and general cognitive ability. Intelligence, 36(2), 153-160.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/ pii/S0160289607000487

The Learning Center. (n.d.). Test anxiety https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-andtools/tackling-test-anxiety/

Paszczyk, S. L. (1994, April). A comparative analysis of ACT scores and final GPAs of Chicago State University undergraduate students. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED370519

Strauss, V. (2019, March 19). Is it finally time to get rid of the SAT and ACT college admissions tests? The Washington Post. /2019/03/19/is-it-finally-time-get- rid-sat-act-collegeadmissions-tests/University of Wisconsin-Madison. (n.d.). ACT and SAT test optional

FAQs. https://admissions.wisc.edu/act_sat_faq/

Wake Forest University. (n.d.). Test optional. https://admissions.wfu.edu/apply/test-optional/