High school seniors may be able to breathe a little easier as they fill in their SAT scores on their college applications. A recent report issued by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) presents some of the issues surrounding standardized testing, and determines the manner in which colleges can better use entrance exams.
The "Report of the Commission on the Use of Standardized Tests in Undergraduate Admissions" presented the results of an NACAC 21-member panel of admissions deans from institutions from around the nation. Led by William R. Fitzsimmons, the dean of admissions and financial aid at Harvard University, the panel analyzed the importance of college entrance exams and tried to assess the advantages and disadvantages of the tests.
The report detailed reasoning from both those who supported standardized testing and those who questioned its importance. Many on the panel felt that while college admissions should not be based solely on standardized test scores, the results of the tests still offered valid statistical information that was helpful in considering applicants, especially in an admissions process that is becoming increasingly competitive.
Others felt that the tests favored those students who had the resources to obtain outside tutoring or could take the tests multiple times. They criticized the third-party influences, such as the thriving test preparation industry, for their role in perpetuating frequent misusage of the tests. They also cited organizations such as the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which requires a minimum PSAT score to qualify for the coveted National Merit Scholarship, and the U.S. News & World Report, which frequently uses test scores in its influential college rankings.
Dissenters of the test also argued that the exams have created a culture of competition among high school students. Students and their parents are willing to go to great lengths to achieve even a small boost in their scores. Others on the panel countered that though this may be true, standardized test scores only end up accounting for a mere percentage of the several factors that colleges consider in making their admissions decisions.
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