Are standardized tests crucial?
Even as “test prep” companies have multiplied, the tests themselves have come under fire. Many experts argue that both the SAT and the ACT discriminate against women and minorities. For example, women as a whole score lower than men on the SAT, but earn higher grades their freshman year. Most admissions officers put more weight on high school grades than on the standardized test scores and take into account the difficulty of a student’s high school courses, the application essay (sometimes called a personal statement), and recommendations from teachers, coaches, and the like. When admissions officers take all of that information into account, it’s debatable how much the standardized tests actually add to the decision-making process. Arguing along these lines, the president of the University of California recently proposed that the entire state system stop using standardize admissions tests altogether. In all, more than 400 colleges no longer require SAT or ACT test scores. (For a listi
