Editorial: Standardized tests do not reflect college readiness

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Editorial: Standardized tests do not reflect college readiness

Each year, hundreds of thousands of students take the SAT. As they take the test with the same format, length, and testing environment, everything seems to be equal — but a quick look under the surface would tell you an entirely different story.

Standardized tests are rooted in racism and grew to be an inequitable tool to demonstrate college readiness. When they were first popularized over a century ago, they functioned as a response to a pool of immigrants flowing into the United States. According to the National Education Association (NEA), many white Anglo-Saxon Protestants “were concerned by the infiltration of non-whites into the nation’s public schools.” As a result, eugenists pushed for testing to prevent immigrants from having the same educational opportunities.

Since then, standardized testing has become ingrained in the American education system. SATs, ACTs, and AP tests now function as a regular aspect of the high school process, and millions of students take them each year. Colleges often view these tests as the only aspect of an application that can be objective. GPA, extracurriculars, and essays are factors that can all be judged differently depending on an applicant’s environment. However, many fail to recognize that standardized testing is not excluded from this role. Depending on a student’s race, gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic standing, they can face immense privileges or inhibitors of their standardized testing scores.

According to the Brookings Institution, the SAT reflects a racial gap through its scores. Despite taking a year dip due to testing site closures, SAT participation has grown steadily in the past decade — and racial disparities have continued with it. For students scoring a 700 and above for the SAT math section, 45% are white, 43% are Asian, while 6% are Hispanic or Latino, and 1% are Black.

Beyond these racial and socioeconomic disparities, standardized tests do not accurately reflect college preparation. When they are used to evaluate a student for admission into a school, students face their entire future determined in four hours.

At best, these tests take a general evaluation of math, science, and English topics. The quick-paced multiple-choice layout leaves little room for creative problem solving, analytical thinking, or other types of learning.

However, some good has come in the past year or two as many colleges have instituted a test-optional policy, where students are not required to submit their standardized test scores. As a result, more emphasis has been placed on other aspects of students’ applications, such as essays, grades, and extracurriculars. According to NPR news, a new SAT will be launched in 2024 with a shorter, completely digital format. Although the test will be easier to administer, this development fails to address the inequities of price and accessibility involved with standardized tests.

One alternative to standardized testing is portfolio-based assessments, depending on an applicant’s field of interest. In this way, administrators could measure students’ progress while adapting to a wide variety of learning styles.

Ultimately, a single test cannot determine college readiness or the standard for attending a certain school. If the end to standardized tests is out of sight, test administrators and schools should prioritize their efforts on reform. As long as these current testing methods continue, disparities will persist. If we want to close this gap, students must have equal access to test preparation and tutoring.

Moving forward, colleges must value the applicant’s character, their academic standing, and their fit for the school rather than standardized testing scores.