A.) Introduction
The SAT is a test that is used as a bar to gauge how prepared a student is for college. It 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).
B) Thesis statement
SAT is not a good indicator of the career paths of the students about to join colleges. It should not be used to gauge students as they are being admitted to colleges.
The SATs are not a good gauge for the students about to join college because not all the students can raise the required capital to successfully undertake the test.
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).
This quote shows the lack of a uniform playing ground for the students because some of the students can access the required materials to make them pass in the test while the others have to wait for the test without any form of preparation.
The right reading materials should be accessible to all the students to make sure that no student has an unfair advantage over the others. The government should make sure that the students that are willing to join college should have the right materials to pass their test.
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).
The above statement shows the expensive nature of the test. The test is quite expensive for the average student and some of them will not be able to afford the test.
The government should subsidize the test to make sure that the students joining colleges take the test without any problems.
The SAT resembles an aptitude test, which tests the understanding 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 above statement shows that the students are not adequately tested on the areas that they have covered in class.
If the students are not evaluated based on the areas covered in school, the test is somehow irrelevant because the education covered in high school would determine the preparedness of the student to join college.
The SAT does not test the skills of the students outside the fields of mathematics, writing and reading.
The statement shows that the test does not consider the other skills that a student may have such as acting in which the student may have exemplary skills.
The students may become frustrated because they may lack the required channels to display their abilities. The test should cover all the aspects of the student’s strengths.
Works Cited
Barrett, Mike. Sat Prep Black Book: The Most Effective Sat Strategies Ever Published. New York: M. Barrett, 2013. 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.
Murray, R M, and NebojsaKujundzic. Critical Reflection: A Textbook for Critical Thinking. Montréal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2005. 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.
