Introduction.
The SAT is a test that is used as a bar to gauge how prepared a student is for college. The SAT is a requirement for many freshmen as they are being admitted to the universities in the United States but not all the Universities (Robinson and Katzman 71: Berliner and Glass 49). The College Board, which is a private and nonprofit institution, owns the test. The Educational Testing Service usually administers the test. The SAT tests the reasoning of the student as well as their verbal abilities. The SAT has three sections namely reading, mathematics, and writing. Each section has 800 points, and the final score of the SAT is determined by adding up the scores from the three sections. The test should last a duration of 3 hours and 45 minutes (Murray and Kujundzic 109). The aim of this paper is to look at how the SAT is not a good indicator of the career paths of the students about to join colleges.
The SAT resembles an aptitude test, which tests the reasoning and reasoning of the students (Barret 96: Israel, 23)). The SAT does not test the students on what they have learnt from their high school courses. Moreover, it does not help the students to identify their different strengths and weaknesses in the different fields learnt when in school. The SAT as a gauge to the preparedness of the students to a college education should show the students their weaknesses and strengths so that they can choose the best career paths.
The SAT is at times biased because the rich can buy expensive textbooks to prepare themselves for the test as compared to the poor. Preparedness has a major impact on how the students perform in the test (Barrett 43). On average, the signing up cost for the test is about $50, and this is not always affordable to every student willing to undertake the test (Stier 67). It does not consider the fact that a student can have exemplary good skills in the other academic fields that are not covered in the test.
Proposed Solution.
Even with the stated weaknesses, the SAT is still used as a gauge of how prepared a student is to join college. The test should incorporate a section that assesses what the students have learnt during their high school course. Students with a clear knowledge of their high school course work should not fail the SAT because they also exhibit high levels of understanding as well as good memory (Jeff 148: Kolby 66). A good SAT should incorporate a section to test the strengths and weaknesses of the students based on their talents. Different students have dissimilar talents, and for this reason, there should be a section that will mainly deal with the strengths of the students to ensure they choose the best career paths (Beatty et al. 34).
The government should provide the SAT free so that they can ensure that no student is barred from undertaking the test and in so doing, allowing them to enroll in the colleges of their choice (Owens 53). Some of the students lack the financial capability to pay for the test and; hence, end up joining colleges to do courses that they do not want to.
Scope
What are the impacts of not undertaking an SAT?
What are the views of the students towards the test?
What other test is currently being undertaken in the country and do the students have a positive reception to it?
If the reception is positive, what are the key differences between the two tests?
My Qualifications.
For some time, I have been interested in the impacts of the SAT test on the career paths of most students. I have carried out extensive research on the topic in the library as well as talking to some students. I think that having undergone the education system, I have a clear picture of what the study entails.
Conclusion.
The SAT is a good test but the fact that it does not incorporate some of the key aspects highlighted in the paper, makes it incompetent in some way. The test should be able to comprehensively determine the preparedness of the student in all aspects as opposed to how the tests only three areas.
Works Cited
Barrett, Mike. Sat Prep Black Book: The Most Effective Sat Strategies Ever Published. New York: M. Barrett, 2013. Print.
Beatty, Alexandra S, M R. C. Greenwood, and Robert L. Linn. Myths and Tradeoffs: The Role of Tests in Undergraduate Admissions. Washington: National Academy Press, 1999. Print.
Berliner, David C, and Gene V. Glass. 50 Myths & Lies That Threaten America's Public Schools: The Real Crisis in Education. New York: Teachers College Press, 2014. Print.
Israel, Elaine. The Official Study Guide for All Sat Subject Tests. New York: College Board, 2006. Print.
Kolby, Jeff. Nova's Sat Prep Course. Los Angeles, CA: Nova Press, 2005. Internet resource.
Kolby, Jeff. Sat Math Tests. New York: Nova Press, 2015. Print.
Murray, R M, and Nebojsa Kujundzic. Critical Reflection: A Textbook for Critical Thinking. Montréal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2005. Print.
Owens, Deborah D. The Origins of the Common Core: How the Free Market Became Public Education Policy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan2015. Print.
Robinson, Adam, and John Katzman. Cracking the SAT. Princeton: Princeton Review, 2014. Print.
Stier, Debbie. The Perfect Score Project: Uncovering the Secrets of the SAT. London: Potter/TenSpeed/Harmony 2014. Print.
