Through our school careers we have been working for one goal not self-improvement not

mental health but a test; one test that sums up 12 years of hard work late nights and anxiety.
School teaches us that everyone is unique in their own way, but they decide to determine our
capabilities by a single standard test. The SAT and ACT measures a student’s readiness and
predicts future academic success for college but fails to measure progress. While these tests are
seemingly unnecessary, they wouldn’t be a staple in college admissions without holding some
meaningful data for determining who is right to attend college. When it comes to effectiveness
the SAT and ACT are similar to a job interview, because no matter how many questions you ask,
you will never fully understand who they are as a person and how capable they are; you only get
a piece of their story.
Due to an unforeseen circumstance I couldn’t make it to my ACT testing location and
there wasn’t another testing date available. I ended up not taking either the SAT or ACT. The
doubt and regret I felt was immense, just thinking that missing one test would carry the same
influence as almost an entire lifetime of school. I thought my previous mistake was behind me
when I got accepted into Plymouth state university in NH, but I received a call from the school
notifying me I wasn’t accepted into the pre-nursing program because an SAT or ACT score is
required. The hypocrisy of not accepting someone into a program based off a test with absolutely
nothing to do with their major is astounding. When this happened all the dreams I had slowly
been materializing seemed to dissolve from my head.
Universities should use your high school GPA as the main factor in their decision, not
just the number itself but the history behind it. The grade doesn’t show the adversity and
struggles the student faced in-order to get their grade. Every late night students chose to sit down
and improve their knowledge rather than hangout with their friends and enjoy their child hood
shouldn’t they be rewarded.
The issue with most arguments is the author isn’t willing to critique their own stance; in
order to come to a common ground with those who share opposing views, both sides must
acknowledge inadequacies in their own beliefs. Regardless of my strong opposition to the
SAT and ACT there is merit to keeping them, for instance if standardized testing is phased out
GPA will become the main factor in college acceptance, but no current university can effectively
determine the course load and difficulty behind each letter grade from thousands of schools
across the country. While I still believe standardized tests should be removed there is a good
argument against it.
One test can’t determine who you are as a person and what capability’s you have. The
phrase don’t judge a book by its cover is so heavily ingrained in are heads and those that taught
us this lesson shouldn’t get to pick and choose when its relevant.