How to Shift Away from Standardized College Admissions Exams
Stuart Nachbar
November 21, 2008
In September, 2008, the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) released a report on the use of standardized tests in undergraduate admissions. If you´re a parent or teacher who is concern about the importance of standardized exams, the SAT and the ACT, in college admissions decisions, this report is well worth the read. To get your copy, contact the association at http://nacacnet.org.
In this report, the association, whose board members include high school and college administrators, recommended that PSAT, SAT and ACT scores should not be used as
Cut-off scores for merit-based aid, National Merit Scholarships and ROTC scholarships.
Tools for course placement, academic advising and research.
A weighed factor in the development of college rankings.
A factor in Bond Ratings by financial rating services such as Fitch Ratings, Moody´ and Standard and Poors.
A reflection of the academic quality of high schools.
A measure of student achievement and college readiness.
A measure of the abilities and aptitudes of international and ESL students.
NACAC also concluded that subject area examinations such as the SAT II examinations, which are given in several subjects besides language arts and mathematics, advanced placement examinations and International Baccalaureate examinations are more closely linked to high school curriculum, and also better predictors of student performance in college. This report also concludes that new curriculum-aligned achievement tests can be developed which emphasize in-class education, as opposed to test taking skills.
The designers of the original SAT and ACT examinations would probably shake their heads in disbelief at some of the current uses of these tests. It is doubtful that they believed they would be used for a non-educational purpose, for instance, to rate a school´s financial condition, so that it could borrow money to improve its facilities.
The SAT is a sixty seven year old testing instrument that was designed for a different time, when fewer high school graduates went to college, but more of those graduates were deserving of a quality education based on merit. James Conant, the president of Harvard during World War II, was an advocate for the SAT as way to diversify admissions to the most select institutions. He believed that the test leveled the playing field between graduates of public schools and graduates of private institutions that had been the historic feeder schools for the leading colleges.
But, as American attitudes about high school and college education have changed, the idea of the SAT or ACT as an important admissions criteria and indicator of a school´s quality have become out of date. The designers of the original examinations could not have predicted that a majority of all high school graduates would want to continue their education into college.
Tutoring courses have become more important, not so much to help bright, well-rounded students, but those who are concerned about being admitted to any college at all. The designers of these exams could not have predicted the growth of a tutoring industry, nor could they have predicted the intensely frenzied nature of bright high school graduates as evidenced in books such as Alexandra Robbin´s The Over Achievers (visit her Web site at http://www.alexandrarobbins.com)
If we are serious about education reform, then educators need to go into the direction of a stronger core of college preparatory courses, with the end of each course being a college preparatory exam. My home state of New Jersey is headed in that direction. The State of New York has gone in this direction for decades through the administration of regent´s examinations.
If there is a shift from the traditional standardized admissions examinations to core requirement final examinations then high school and college educators would have better tools to assess educational quality across a variety of resources and a better academic profile of each student. The testing and tutoring industries would not be put out to pasture. In fact, they would become more important partners in reform because all students would be forced to pass mandatory core courses, as opposed to taking examinations that more and more schools are making optional for admissions purposes. Very few students are strong across the board in all subjects, but, with stronger core requirements, they will need to become more competent than ever.
Contact Stuart Nachbar at http://www.EducatedQuest.com, a blog on education politics, policy and technology or read about his first book, The Sex Ed Chronicles, a novel on education and politics in 1980 New Jersey, at http://www.SexEdChronicles.com.
In this report, the association, whose board members include high school and college administrators, recommended that PSAT, SAT and ACT scores should not be used as
Cut-off scores for merit-based aid, National Merit Scholarships and ROTC scholarships.
Tools for course placement, academic advising and research.
A weighed factor in the development of college rankings.
A factor in Bond Ratings by financial rating services such as Fitch Ratings, Moody´ and Standard and Poors.
A reflection of the academic quality of high schools.
A measure of student achievement and college readiness.
A measure of the abilities and aptitudes of international and ESL students.
NACAC also concluded that subject area examinations such as the SAT II examinations, which are given in several subjects besides language arts and mathematics, advanced placement examinations and International Baccalaureate examinations are more closely linked to high school curriculum, and also better predictors of student performance in college. This report also concludes that new curriculum-aligned achievement tests can be developed which emphasize in-class education, as opposed to test taking skills.
The designers of the original SAT and ACT examinations would probably shake their heads in disbelief at some of the current uses of these tests. It is doubtful that they believed they would be used for a non-educational purpose, for instance, to rate a school´s financial condition, so that it could borrow money to improve its facilities.
The SAT is a sixty seven year old testing instrument that was designed for a different time, when fewer high school graduates went to college, but more of those graduates were deserving of a quality education based on merit. James Conant, the president of Harvard during World War II, was an advocate for the SAT as way to diversify admissions to the most select institutions. He believed that the test leveled the playing field between graduates of public schools and graduates of private institutions that had been the historic feeder schools for the leading colleges.
But, as American attitudes about high school and college education have changed, the idea of the SAT or ACT as an important admissions criteria and indicator of a school´s quality have become out of date. The designers of the original examinations could not have predicted that a majority of all high school graduates would want to continue their education into college.
Tutoring courses have become more important, not so much to help bright, well-rounded students, but those who are concerned about being admitted to any college at all. The designers of these exams could not have predicted the growth of a tutoring industry, nor could they have predicted the intensely frenzied nature of bright high school graduates as evidenced in books such as Alexandra Robbin´s The Over Achievers (visit her Web site at http://www.alexandrarobbins.com)
If we are serious about education reform, then educators need to go into the direction of a stronger core of college preparatory courses, with the end of each course being a college preparatory exam. My home state of New Jersey is headed in that direction. The State of New York has gone in this direction for decades through the administration of regent´s examinations.
If there is a shift from the traditional standardized admissions examinations to core requirement final examinations then high school and college educators would have better tools to assess educational quality across a variety of resources and a better academic profile of each student. The testing and tutoring industries would not be put out to pasture. In fact, they would become more important partners in reform because all students would be forced to pass mandatory core courses, as opposed to taking examinations that more and more schools are making optional for admissions purposes. Very few students are strong across the board in all subjects, but, with stronger core requirements, they will need to become more competent than ever.
Contact Stuart Nachbar at http://www.EducatedQuest.com, a blog on education politics, policy and technology or read about his first book, The Sex Ed Chronicles, a novel on education and politics in 1980 New Jersey, at http://www.SexEdChronicles.com.
Print
Email
