Research Essay. Why SAT Scores Should Not Be Used in College Admissions

College admissions has long been a very stressful, long, and quite extensive process that leaves the student wanting more for their time. Time and time management are the most vital parts of being a student. The SAT and other standardized tests are unnecessary due to the vast time commitment and socioeconomic factors that gives people with more money a leg up on the test. Test prep services are typically 40+ hours of intense studying that costs anywhere from $2,000-$8,000 (Robinson). Test prep industry is a rapidly expanding empire that has surpassed 1 billion dollar worth (Struass). But these programs are catered to the wealthy not the poor. The test prep industry and the SAT have fundamental flaws that put people of higher class on top. With colleges putting far too much weight onto the test it can very easily affect students' future earning potential and future job credentials. SAT scores are unneeded in college admissions because of the high cost to get a better score, the unnecessary long term implications, and time needed for a good score.

One way that SATs and standardized tests are unfair and unneeded is the giant test prep industry. The industry is causing professionals to rethink “the reliability of test scores as true measures of student abilities”(Strauss). The reason they are becoming questioned is because of the vast cost of prepping for the exam and the effect they have on the students' scores. Strauss shows that the “test prep” business is very unfair and that people with money coming in from their parents can pay for a higher score. They practice and pay thousands for private coaching on how to get a good score on the test, not how to be a good student. Students should study what is on the exam and how to get better at the content in the exam, rather than just studying how to take the test in order to get a higher score. Strauss also cites that test scores do not have a correlation to college success and that it is not the end all be all of what a student can accomplish in college. Another disadvantage of the test prep industry is the unfair effect on “socioeconomically disadvantaged test takers” (Aspegren). Aspegren also states that the students that do not have outside help can’t always get into the college of their choice because their score did not have the extra boost. The boost the students get from the test prep services does yield results but it's not a valid representation of how the student's true score is. A valid representation is how the student does in their classes, how hard they work in school, and the results of their hard work. The pay for boost is not fair to those who don’t have access to test prep services. Students of low incomes don’t have the ability to pay for such services because of the extreme cost for the boost. The disadvantages outway the advantages enormously with the cost and the consequences of not having the test prep service’s help. The industry calls on the credibility of the test because it can be easily manipulated to help students with money and hurt ones without. A fundamental flaw that hurts students of low income obtain opportunities for higher education. 

On the other hand people argue that SAT scores and other standardized tests should matter because they are integral to the college admissions process. The way that the tests are put together are a good baseline for students that are around the country and in different school systems to compare their talents. Their reasoning is that,“Research has consistently found that ability tests like the SAT and the ACT are strongly predictive of success in college and beyond”(Wai). This shows how the tests are needed because they have real life applications that can measure a students abilities accurately. There are not many other ways to measure students against each other and the test is taken by everyone .Although the test is important, the amount of weight put on them and the score is not a fair indicator of the students talents and grades. An example of this is Stacy Torres now a professor of sociology at the University of California, and her struggles with the SAT. Torres states that because of her score (1160) she missed out on scholarships because her score was not high enough. She also says that she also stayed away from all classes that needed an SAT score or GRE for her masters. This impacted her greatly because she could not take the full classes that she was ready for, all because of her low test score. She had straight A’s in high school and college but a test score held her back from reaching her full potential. This is a problem many teens are having when applying for colleges. They have the grades to get into the school that they want and that they deserve to be in but they don’t have the SAT score needed. It does not make sense that one test on only writing, reading, and math is held in higher regard than four years of high school grades. Course history and grades although can be harder to judge between different areas but are a better measure than one SAT score.

My research has consistently shown how SAT scores should not be used for college admissions because of the socioeconomic advantages that students of families of a higher income have over students with low incomes. I also found out about how the test prep industry is a rapidly expanding billion dollar empire that focuses just on the test. The amount of money for these courses are absurd and they can take up to 40 hours of prep for the student. This is time that could be spent on actual school work, not just a test. I also found out about real people and their negative impact their SAT scores had on them. The test had real life implications on them and it hurt their future. This all shows that SATs and standardized tests are unfair and unneeded. The unintended consequences, and the lack of opportunities for low income students is unfair and takes credibility away from the SAT.