Plan to eliminate SAT step in right direction

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For years, colleges have been judging the potential future
success of students by a three-hour, multiple-choice test.

But a proposal by University of California President Richard
Atkinson could change this. In a bold announcement Sunday, Atkinson
stated his support for eliminating the SAT from the UC and called
for the creation of a new test that would better measure
students’ mastery of college prep material.

Though he said that the SAT II subject tests would still be
required for admission, the SAT I requirement could be dropped by
the 2003 academic school year ““ and it’s about
time.

In recent years, it has become abundantly clear that the SAT is
not an effective tool of measuring students’ preparedness for
college. There are so many problems with its administration and
results that continuing to rely on it as a factor in the admissions
process no longer makes sense.

To begin with, any student can do well on the test if
they’re taught tricks and shortcuts in a pricey prep
course.

Parents spend over $100 million yearly on tutorial services to
prepare their kids for the SAT ““ and they get their
money’s worth. In fact, some SAT prep companies guarantee an
increase of hundreds of points.

But what if high school students from poor neighborhoods
can’t afford Kaplan or Princeton Review? Access to resources
like these gives wealthy students an unfair advantage over
low-income students.

Many high school classrooms have integrated SAT prep material
into their course work, hoping to boost their schools’
overall scores. But practicing rote testing skills does not help
students achieve college-level abilities.

This emphasis on test preparation consumes crucial time and
money during high school that could be put to better use.

Not only is the SAT a poor indicator of a student’s
academic strength, statistics show it’s also biased against
minorities. College Board statistics show that while the national
average score is rising, the gap between whites and minorities is
widening. Last year, African American students, on average, scored
about 100 points lower on the math and verbal sections than their
white peers, and Latinos scored about 65 points lower on each
section than whites.

As Atkinson points out, it’s hard not to believe there is
a problem with a test that creates such discrepancies.

But the problem doesn’t end with the SAT. Even with the
removal of the SAT, Advanced Placement courses give some students
an unfair advantage by inflating their grade point average above a
4.0.

While wealthy high schools often offer up to 30 AP courses,
underprivileged schools may only be able to offer one or two. Along
with dropping the SAT, the UC should drop that extra grade point
for AP classes. Isn’t getting credit for a college course
enough?

It’s time to devise a method of more accurately evaluating
prospective students. There is a way to do this: test a
student’s critical thinking skills, not their ability to
memorize tedious lists of words, formulas and tactics.

Regardless of subject, a student’s ability to convey
thought processes through writing is one of the best ways to
determine critical thinking skills. Testing methods should focus on
having students tackle concepts they learned during high school,
asking them to dissect, explain and apply that knowledge in essay
or short-answer format. If students can’t communicate their
knowledge, then there’s no practical use for it.

Most importantly, students can’t buy critical thinking
skills.

Given the inequalities in the school system, it is absurd for
anyone to expect a three-hour multiple choice test to reveal a
student’s intelligence, creativity and potential for college
success. More emphasis must be placed on personal statements and
extracurricular activities. As President Atkinson suggested, a more
holistic approach to examining a student’s educational
background must be developed.

High school students shouldn’t have to take time away from
their curriculum in order to prepare for a biased test. The
UC’s admissions process should be based on a student’s
critical thinking skills, not on their contributions to a
multi-million-dollar testing industry.