The SAT’s Effectiveness The SAT is the most widely accepted college admissions test; approximately two million students take it each year. The current SAT measures a student’s masteryin three core topics: English, Math, and Writing. The English section of the SAT is a multiple-choice test whichcovers vocabulary, reading comprehension, grammar, and literary analysis. The math test is multiple choice as well as student-produced response, where no answer choices are given but rather students can fill in bubbles for values 0-9999 and thus similar to an open-ended question. The math section examines all topics from pre-algebra to algebra II. The writing section includes an essay that requires students to take a position on a topic, and a multiple-choice test to evaluate the student’s ability to form a logical argument. The test takes approximately three hours and forty-five minutes to complete. The SAT originally stood for Scholastic Aptitude Test, but this name was found to be controversial because many people felt it introduced the test only as an aptitude test. This led to the test simply being referred to at the SAT and not standing for anything (History of the Tests). The SAT …show more content…
The longest test most students have taken, with a time limit, is an Advanced Placement Exam. These tests are proctored by the College Board, which states these test may not be longer than three hours (Advanced Placement Tests Top Questions). The SAT takes a minimum of three hours and forty-five minutes. Sam Rosensohn found that eighty-seven percent of students found it to be the longest test they had ever taken (Rosensohn). This is a much longer test than students are used to and some struggle with endurance. The SAT is a high stakes test and because of the unfamiliar format, students struggle to adjust. The SAT tests for the ability of the student to stay focused for hours rather than pure intellectual
Most top-tier universities use SAT and/or ACT test scores as an important factor when considering students for admissions. A perfect score is a great aid in helping an applicate standout in a highly competitive arena. Because the test scores are so important, many students begin preparation in the 8th or 9th grade and continue it throughout their high school years. Today, that prep is even more significant due to redesigned SAT, which many consider a harder test than its predecessor.
The SAT are standardized tests, formally called the Scholastic Aptitude Tests and are used by most colleges
Imagine a test capable of making or breaking a student's chances of getting into his or her dream college. Imagine a test score that can be easily influenced, but only through thousands of dollars worth of coaching. Now imagine that same test but biased towards certain crowds of students while also being incapable of accurately predicting their futures. Is this the test you want for colleges to use in order to distinguish students? This is the SAT—famous for the unnecessary pressure it presents to students as well as the unfair disadvantages it presents to many others. Since these SAT scores are extremely artificial, SAT tests are not an accurate predictor for future success.
The following category discusses the reliability and validity of the SAT. Firstly, the reliability measures the consistency and steadiness of the SAT scores and validity measures how the test is being consumed. The SAT is a reliable test for the reason that if an individual takes the SAT multiple times he or she would receive comparable or higher scores each time the test is given to the individual due to the culture of the test. The SAT is valid since the test is designed to measure an individual cognitive ability and the achievement of students. Research has proved that cognitive test validities are generalizable and predictive of academic performance (Shen, Sackett, Kuncel, Beatty, Rigdon & Kiger, 2012). The SAT shows that more selective
It is very important to consider the fact that standardized tests will have a lasting effect on many lives, determining which college students will attend, and essentially, the job and success they will have later in life. The SAT has changed greatly from the first time it was taken, first asking about Latin constructions while making sure it was an aptitude test, rather than an achievement test “because [be doing this, people] think [they] can give poor boys the best chance to take away the advantage of rich boys“. In the past, it was very difficult to develop tests that weren’t achievement tests because all the rich boys had a much better education where they were, giving them an unfair advantage. Standardized tests play a very important part in the lives of students and determine whether or not they get into college and where, although “Research [has] found that the SAT was a relatively poor predictor of college success compared to high school grades as well as curriculum-based achievement
The SAT is a standardized test which over a million students take per year. This test supposedly was made to determine, approximately, how well freshmen in college will do. Although, studies have shown only twenty five percent of test takers scores actually match their grades (O'Shaughnessy). The SAT is unnecessary and unfair for students applying for college because it prevents diversity in schools and big businesses only care about the profit from the test.
Every student planning on going to college must take the SAT in order to receive scholarship money or to be accepted into most institutions of higher learning. The test was first introduced in 1926 and was adapted from a general IQ test for army recruits (“SAT History - The Evolution of the SAT”). It was used as a test to determine the intelligence of the soldiers. Now, it is a widely feared test that essentially predicts a student’s future. The scores can determine what path a student takes.
SAT is one of the most important of any teenager in high school. The SAT determines the fields of college admission and higher education. Moderate of student get into this $500 dollars program for 5 years to study for the SAT. This program helps a student get 1600 on the SAT. That 1600 includes math, reading, and writing. If you get a 800 on everything, then you might just get a scholarship. However, I believe that the SAT is not an accurate valid test for students. Many students have the knowledge to pass, but can also stress about it so much that it messes with them during the test. Also, I don’t think the SAT should affect whether you go into a good college or not. Yet, many student believe that this is their only shoot into
In the United States, two popular tests are the SAT and the ACT. These tests are as crucial as they can determine what college a student can attend. The reason for this is the SAT and the ACT provide colleges with an unbiased look at what type of student they are looking at. The SAT is curved, so that a 1500 is consistent across every test so there is no worry of grade inflation or deflation due to deviations among tests and their level of difficulty. For this reason standardized tests allows universities across the world to easily compare the applications they receive. This is needed as some colleges receive upwards of fifty thousand applications per year.
Generally speaking, the SAT is a one-day test where students are forced to test in specific areas such as math, reading and writing in an allotted time period. An individual’s success cannot be measured by a snapshot of time. Many believe that time does not help reflect a student’s overall performance because there are multiple of variables that can happen throughout the time period and day to that individual. In addition, the SAT testing does not take into account other academic areas that a student may excel in. While a student’s GPA on their transcript can show administrators the student’s strengths and weakness since it reflects an accumulative of four years in high school, thus it is able to better represent a student’s academic
The College Boared believs that this SAT tests students potential by their revisions made on the exam. The College Board carefully went through each section and displayed information relevant to the workplace and college studies. These revisions include taking away a students calculator on the math portion, or even testing students on historical american figures. All in all, the new SAT is displayued with a purpose behind each and every question. The old SAT was tricky and really is hard for students who don’t test well. According to Atkinson and Geiser, “the exam will be a more straightforward test of material that students encounter in the classroom(Atkinson and Geiser). The exam being straight forward is more fair for
The SAT is a standardized test widely used for college and university admissions in the United States. It was first introduced in 1926, and its name and scoring system have changed several times throughout the years. Many students around the world that want to pursue post-secondary institutions in the US make it a point to write the SAT at least once in their high school career to better their chances of getting a higher score. This test has three parts to it – one reading, writing and one math. In order to achieve the best score that they can possibly get and be placed in the highest possible percentile, students may decide to attend SAT preparation classes starting from the early years of High/Middle School. The unfortunate reality of these extra preparation courses is that they are quite expensive, and due to this, they mostly cater towards to higher or higher-middle class families. Courses that provide extra preparation such as Ivy Global are not very affordable to many families and so students. According to many statistics and news reports, the higher the test taker’s family income, the higher their scores in the test. This has been a topic of great controversy as we have grown in the modern society
I would like to know what is on the Sat before taking it and that's good because they have a practice test online. This would help me the most because I could take it as much as I want and whenever I want. The Act also has a practice test but it is a written test and you have to sign up for it and can only take it once that day. You can sign up again but you would have to wait again for awhile. The Sat
The college entrance SAT exam, or Scholastic Aptitude Test, has long been an important factor in college acceptance as an indicator of readiness for post-secondary education. Though not the only deciding factor, SAT test scores are considered along with grade point average, the level of difficulty of courses taken, extracurricular activities and sports participated in, and demonstration of leadership skills. Some colleges put more importance on the SAT than others, with the leading universities requiring a minimum score to be considered for entrance. The SAT was changed in 2005 to place a greater emphasis on critical thinking skills.
It is easier for a student to answer a question they recently learned, than it is for them to answer the same question a year later. Due to the structure of the SAT, the vast majority of students do not take it until their junior or senior year of high school. This means that when a student takes the SAT, it is often long after they learned much of the subject material. Consequently, the student must rely on their ability to remember subjects, showing whether or not they have effective memory