Imagine sitting in a classroom, at eight in the morning, getting prepared to take a five-hour test that is crucial for college acceptance. You are most likely exhausted and nervous as you stare at the clock watching your time waste away. Despite battling nerves and sleep deprivation, students know that this test ultimately determines their college futures. By looking at student stress, grade point average, and personal background and family life, we can see that standardized testing, such as the SAT and ACT, do not accurately depict whether a student should or should not get into college. The SAT was created in 1926 in hopes to measure a student’s ability to learn and retain information. Both the SAT and ACT are “aptitude tests,” which means they were created to predict the test-taker’s skills; however, many students feel robbed of college acceptances and scholarships due to their scores on standardized tests. Due to increased opposition toward the tests, many studies have been done to decide whether they are effective, or if there may be other methods that more accurately define whether a student is college-worthy.

The stress students feel during testing season is at an all-time high. During winter months, high school juniors and seniors are preoccupied with finals and college applications. They are supposed to be figuring out what career they wish to pursue and where life is going to take them next. It is hard for a student to be focused on passing finals when the ACT and SAT tests are lurking in the back of their minds. Students are already trying to be competitive and balance AP classes with extra-curricular activities. Expecting students "to manage their already challenging schedule while simultaneously studying for the ACT or SAT is unrealistic and unfair” (Hudlow 7). It is true that colleges look at more than standardized test scores for acceptance; however, teachers and parents have ingrained it into students’ minds that a good test score is what will push them over the edge and without it, all of their hard work in AP classes is a waste. 

Not every intelligent or college-worthy student performs well under stress. Students who perform well on these tests will argue that, yes, they do a perfect job at measuring what they have learned. These students are often students who perform well under stress. When students are asked whether SAT and ACTs reflected their knowledge correctly, there were mixed answers. Some students had received over two months of preparation courses at school, while others are forced to fend for themselves and study outside of class or higher a tutor. Even ACT officials have admitted that “some students don’t have equal access to high-quality teaching and curricula in their K-12 years” (Abrams 6). One student commented: “I always seem to have a difficult time with multiple choice tests. I weigh my answers too much, second-guess myself, and sometimes do not go with my ‘gut instinct.’ Because of the pressure I feel completing standardized tests, I feel that my test scores do not reflect my knowledge of specific skills. In such a high-pressure situation, students can crack and do poorly” (Schulten). 

When teachers are stressed, students also become stressed and good performance on standardized tests becomes extremely difficult. This issue is that if a high school student explains to his or her parent that they are stressed, parents tend to laugh it off and say they do not know what stress is until they reach adulthood. Stress in high school students is all too real, however. They are just learning how to balance participation in clubs and sports with AP classes and other classes. Hanging standardized tests over their heads only intensifies the stress they are feeling. Choosing which test fits the test-taker most also causes students a greater deal of stress than they need. There are many resources online that describe what topics are covered on each test and what personality types fit them. The fact that the tests are so different may cause the student to try to take both multiple times to try to get a good score. This obviously distracts them from their regular high school coursework, which is unreasonable. Teachers are also stressed due to standardized testing. Teachers have begun “teaching to the test” in order to receive good evaluations because “forty percent of their evaluations come from student scores on a combination of state and other standardized tests” (Kamenetz 11). This creates a hostile learning environment because teachers are more concerned about teaching test-taking skills, than useful information. Students do not have the opportunity to learn things they are actually interested in because the ACT and SAT are deemed more important.

Standardized testing is beginning to “penalize diversity” because it is geared toward specific learning targets that may not include the strengths of all students (Kamenetz 14). It is not only “making teachers hate teaching” it is also “making students hate school and turning parents into test preppers” (Kamenetz 14). Parents taking on the role of “test preppers” is problematic because they are supposed to provide emotional support. Students should be able to come home and relax, but instead, they come home, finish their homework, and are also pushed to prepare for tests. Constant pushing and pressuring has the opposite effect of what is intended. Students are overwhelmed and are likely to give up because they have too much to balance. There are other ways to test whether a student will be successful in college that are fair and do not discriminate based on family income. 

Life at home and family members greatly shape a person’s attitude and can affect how well they perform in school. Another thing that may cause stress, is personal background and the student’s family life. Family income can play a role in how well students perform on standardized tests. Studies have been done to show that “those from the lowest income brackets score almost 400 points on average lower than students from the highest income brackets” on the SAT (Miro Kazakoff). This is very likely due to the fact that those with a lower income are not able to spend extra money on tutoring and test preparation. It is unfair that some students are given more opportunities to do well than others. When asked about the gap in scores between low and high-income families, ACT officials acknowledge that students from high income families perform better on tests because they have “access to higher-quality schools and more effective teachers with greater resources at their disposal” (Abrams 6). Instead of admitting that this is an issue, the officials suggest that students with less accessibility to good school systems take matters into their own hands, and use the internet and other technology to better prepare themselves. It is entirely unfair to expect some students to have to work much harder than others to earn a good test score, although officials of both the SAT and ACT claim that the tests are fair.

 Students are exposed to predisposed conditions starting in early childhood. If a student grows up knowing they do not have the same opportunities as other students, they can become discouraged and give up more easily. In fact, “what separates students who are able to improve from ones who aren’t, is the belief that their hard work is going to pay off” (Kazakoff). If a child is not encouraged to try their hardest, they will most likely grow up and continue not to try hard. Students of various races also perform differently on standardized tests. These predisposed conditions could also be the reason that “Asians on average, score higher than white students, who on average, score higher than African American And Latino students” (Kazakoff). It is a common stereotype that Asians are smarter than white students. Because of this, Asian students go into standardized testing knowing they have something to prove, while white, African American, and Latino students have been convinced that they are not supposed to do as well. Putting things like this into a student’s head has been proven to affect how well they perform. 

All students have access to AP and college-level classes despite income or personal background. If colleges are actually concerned about how hard a student works or if they were able to challenge themselves and perform well in high school, grade point average is a better indicator. A student’s grade point average is accumulated over all four years of high school. Some universities, such as Wake Forest, have become test-optional, meaning that submitting an ACT or SAT score is not required. Observing a “five-year study of its test score-optional policy, Bates College found that the change ‘has had no visible negative impact on the quality of enrollees, and seems in fact to have had a positive impact’” (Rooney 8).  Colleges who have recently switched to test-optional, have studied and compared how students who did and did not submit their test scores performed in college. It was discovered that “there was no substantial difference in college GPA and graduation rates among students who submitted test scores at these schools and those who did not” (Burns 1). The study included “private and public colleges and universities, arts schools, technical schools and those serving a predominantly minority population. All institutions observed the same result: High school performance, not standardized test scores, is the most accurate predictor of college success” (Burns 2). It is up to the student to decide whether they want to challenge themselves and study hard to make good grades. After starting college, it has been found that “the correlation between SAT scores and first-year college grades is not overwhelming, and that only 10 percent to 20 percent of the variation in first-year GPA is explained by SAT scores” (Paulos 8). 

In high school, students are also able to pick elective classes that allow them to take classes that interest them and may be helpful for their futures careers. If students take classes they actually show interest in, they are likely to perform better and their grade point averages will be boosted. Another study done within test-optional colleges confirmed that “only .05 percent of a GPA point, set “submitters” and “non-submitters” apart, and the difference in their graduation rates was just .6 percent” (Sheffer 5). The difference in grade point average between test submitters and non-submitters is miniscule and for the most part, insignificant. With that being said, the graduation rates between submitters and non-submitters is also not significant enough for there to be any concern. The evidence of the study “clearly shows that high school GPA matters. Four-year, long-term evidence of self-discipline, intellectual curiosity and hard work; that’s what matters the most. After that, I would say evidence that someone has interests that they have brought to a higher level, from a soccer goalie to a debater to a servant in a community to a linguist. We need to see evidence that the student can bring something to a high level of skill” (Sheffer 8). Grade point average does much more than show that you can focus for five hours straight and guess well. It displays how dedicated a student was for a length of time. In college, students cannot rely on a single five-hour test to get a degree. In order to be successful, college students must work hard for at least two years. Most post-graduate students seeking to get into major-specific programs are seeking to be well-rounded and have a high grade point average. Post-graduate institutions want well-rounded students who performed well throughout their undergraduate years, so it only makes sense for high schoolers to focus on these things in order to better prepare for college. 

The ACT and SAT are supposed to be fair due to the fact that they are based on a certain curriculum that every school in the United States is supposed to teach. The reality of the situation, is that not all schools require or even offer the same classes as others. Learning objectives differ from state-to-state. All high schools are supposed to teach the material covered on the Act or SAT; however, “the educational system of United States is not standardized unlike the other countries. Each state varies with the use of curriculum, books and other teaching modules. Even the state assessment varies from one state to another” (McKee 1). ACT and SAT officials claim that if students choose a more rigorous schedule, they are likely to perform better on the tests. This is hardly fair considering some schools do not offer classes that should be included in this “rigorous schedule” they believe will lead to better test scores. There will not be a fair playing field regarding the ACT and SAT until a standardized curriculum is created and practiced. It has also often argued that these tests are testing for the completely wrong things. If colleges are looking for a student’s best work, it makes senses for them to be tested on something that they are actually interested in. Until all states teach the exact same curriculum, standardized testing is not going to be fair.

Through recent research, it has been made obvious that “creative problem solving, oral and written communication skills, and critical thinking, plus social and emotional factors, including grit, motivation, and the ability to collaborate, are just as important in determining success as traditional academics” (Kamenetz 14). If each student was tested based on their strong points, they would all have an equal opportunity to do well and make it to college. Not every high school student is good at math, just like not every student excels in sports. It is likely that many of the nervous thoughts students may have when testing to get into college, will subdue if they are actually doing something they are confident in. Large-scale standardized testing does not measure “the motivation to learn, the inclination to apply school learning to real situations, the ability to work in groups, and some kinds of complex problem solving” (Kamenetz 14). All standardized testing accomplishes, is making students not feel confident in what they are actually good at. Sure, athletes get scholarships for good performance in sports, but not without an impressive test score to go with it. It is true that those who are good in the athletic field need to be well-rounded and scholarly in order to succeed in college, but it would be more beneficial if they could study and build up a high grade point average, without having to also worry about studying for standardized tests. The United States Department of education claims that “there is considerable commonality across the U.S. education system despite the absence of legally enforced national curricula or examinations,” but “commonality” is not good enough to be considered fair (USNEI 2). 

Considering the stress levels of students and the unfair advantage some students have over others, there is not a reason to believe that the ACT and SAT tests are beneficial for everyone. The ACT and SAT should not be thrown out completely; however, colleges may need to reconsider requiring the test and a high score to get in. There are other things, such as grade point average that can be used to decide whether a student is going to do well in college. Without a standardized curriculum across the United States, standardized tests are not fair. As colleges are becoming test-optional, the future of the ACT and SAT is unknown. Hopefully, colleges will begin to focus on each student and their strengths, rather than comparing them to each other using large-scale testing.
