Academic Testing: Gatekeeping America’s Higher Education

1. Introduction to the topic

At one point in our lives we must take a determining test to measure our academic success and worth under the disguise of knowledge and capabilities. For many of us, it begins with one of the two prominently known college admission exams, the SAT and ACT. Most colleges and universities require either the SAT or ACT for their collegiate application and so a significant percentage of students globally take and submit their scores of either one or both exams. Preparing for these two major standardized tests and completing the entire college admissions process is arduous and anxiety-inducing. Students are judged heavily on their cumulative high school grade point average (GPA) and SAT/ACT score. As a result, those who exceed and do well are expected to be rewarded with admission towards their target and reach schools from their desired colleges.

 

2. Introduction to the Problem

A. What problems do the SAT and ACT have?

However, while the SAT and ACT are highly used standardized tests with the notion to fairly judge and predict successful students from their large pool of applicants, admission officers, professors, and educational experts have questioned the validity and reliability of using these exam scores as a predictor of a successful college student at their institution. The SAT and ACT has been built and developed on a problematic foundation that is racially, genderly, and economically biased towards certain groups of students. Furthermore, previous and recent studies have shown that high scored results are not always an indication of a thriving first year college student and have found stark divisions in scores and acceptances by race, gender, and family income.

 

3. History of the SAT and ACT

A. General Information

Many students begin their college preparation by considering taking either the ACT or SAT exam since both scores are compatible and acceptable for college admission and awarding merit-based scholarships. Most colleges and universities do not have a preference of one over the other and the two generally test the same topics at an equal difficulty. There are a few differences between the SAT and ACT ranging from a section topic, time, point system, etc. however the difficulty stays subjectively the same as they share the common goal of assessing students’ readiness for college level learning and knowledge.

 

B. SAT

The SAT, also formerly known as the “Scholastic Aptitude Test,” “Scholastic Assessment Test,” and “SAT Reasoning Test” has currently five parts: Evidence-Based Reading, Writing & Language, Math without Calculator, Math with a Calculator, and an optional Essay portion separately scored from its 400 to 1600 point range. The original SAT was very different from current SAT design in areas such as scoring out of a maximum 2400 points and a deduction system of points for a given incorrect question which was thankfully redesigned in 2016 with a goal: to accurately assess student preparedness for the rigor of college education (LA Tutors). Aside from the composition, the original SAT unfortunately did not start with the same intentions. 

The creation of the SAT began with Carl Brigham, a eugenicist and psychologist, who wrote his infamous book, A Study of American Intelligence, where he claims that African Americans and blacks were on the lower end of the racial, ethnic, and cultural spectrum and through standardized testing, it will show how superiority the Nordic race is. He also warned the public on the dangers of intermingling with them new immigrants arguing that the American education system was in decline and that racial mixing would only accelerate the devastating and extensive downfall of the American academia.

The exam was first used for the US army during World War I as an aptitude test to range and organize soldiers into units which was observed as segregated by race where the black test takers were seen and noticed as underachieving and lower than their white counterparts. It was not until 1926 where the SAT was administered as our traditional academic admission exam starting with a total of 315 questions on American vocabulary and math. What was also prevalent in 1926 was the belief that ethnic origin and intelligence were connected. This led to the SAT to be used as a legal gatekeeper for college admissions where certain test scores could be used as a disapproval for admission of particularly unwanted racial groups (Rosales & Walker).

C. ACT

Unfortunately, the ACT also had this issue. Similarly to the SAT, the ACT has five sections: English, Math, Reading, Science Reasoning, and also an optional essay section scored from a range of 1 to 36 points. 

The ACT was developed as a competitor known as “American College Testing” against the Collegeboard’s SAT by a University of Iowa education professor, Everett Franklin Lindquist. He argued that the ACT would be more than the SAT, not only will it test an individual’s cognitive reasoning, it would also test the material learned in school and was the first test to have a science reasoning section. The ACT’s goal was much different from the SAT where it was used to identify a student’s strengths and weaknesses and help guide their placement on a national scale rather than a method to determine one’s cognitive abilities. In 1959, the ACT was first administered with four sections: English, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Natural Sciences with a scale from 0 to 36. 

While the ACT’s original purpose was much more academically beneficial to measure high schoolers’ readiness for college, the ACT design expected all students to be on the same playing field which was geared towards American culture and learning environments. Furthermore, ACT scores had a direct positive correlation with family income. The higher family income, the higher average score the student received. Overall this expectation of an “ equal ground'' causes an unfair, biased edge towards a particular test taking group, often unintentionally hurting other groups of students.

 

4. Conclusion about the two test

While the purpose of the SAT and ACT were to measure and judge a student’s preparedness and qualifications for college, their biased racial, gender, and financial foundations causes certain students to be rejected and declined to their eligible institutions.

A. Purpose of the SAT and ACT

Over 2 million students worldwide take the SAT and/or ACT every year. The scores represent a student’s strengths and weaknesses and as indicators for their readiness for college work. They are used to help college admission officers judge and compare students from within the same and different high schools. What happens when there is a gap between scores and it is caused by a noticeable difference in student’s race, gender, and familial socio-economic status? 

B. Continuation of the Problems with the SAT and ACT

i.  Historical Problems with the SAT and ACT

The SAT and ACT are exams used to observe and judge an individual’s intelligence and application of their knowledge in a supposedly fair manner. However, as earlier hinted, there are large disparities in scores for the SAT and ACT. For two universal exams that are seen as an important section to review in determining one’s acceptance or denial, it is ironic that the issue in score gaps is caused by a biased foundation, causing students of color to suffer as a result. Over the years, standardized tests have been used as a weapon to objectively degrade and deny acceptance from most minority and/or low income families and exclude them from prestigious colleges and universities. 

ii. Socioeconomic status of Students

Students of color, notably black and brown students, and students from low socioeconomic families, are those who suffer the most. Obvious reasons lie in America’s racist history towards minorities and people of color and because many of discrimination is based on racial and ethnic beliefs it is also woven in American education system. Furthermore, those on the lower socioeconomic end, can not afford the same opportunities as those from higher and more affluent families. For example, some families can afford additional private tutoring to help support their children in preparation for college and on the SAT and/or ACT which expectedly gets them into top schools, while those who do not have the money did not have access to such support. As a result, scores could be misleading and often hide the fact that inequities exist.

iii. Demographic of Students

A survey conducted by College Board in 1976 analyzed and revealed that Black students had an average score that was usually 240 points lower than their white counterparts, during that time the SAT was out of a score of 2400. Thankfully, the gap was reported lessened to 177 points in their 2018 analysis. However, given that there is a seen persistence in the gap between scores, suggest that underlying racial and socioeconomic issues regarding the SAT and ACT to which we know they do have long-standing problems of bias, racial, and socioeconomic inequality. Non-Asian students of color are seend to have a historical trend of having lower SAT scores than their White and Asian peers and we can see that many students do suffer and lose the opportunity for entry into prestigious schools. Blacks, Latino, Native as well as some students from the Asian community have experienced some form of bias and limiter from standardized testing.  

 
5. Requirement changes to the SAT and ACT for College Admission

A. Effects of the Pandemic on the SAT and ACT

The SAT and ACT have endured as a long standing tradition for college admission under the notion to uniformly judge applicants. However, professors, educational experts, and researchers have argued against future testing as a necessary component of a student’s application for decades to no avail. With the recent pandemic, the action to remove the SAT and ACT has hastened the simmering desire for collegiate admission change. As the pandemic forced the nation to close its schools and testing centers, many universities and colleges made national news to discontinue the requirement for the SAT and ACT for college admission.

6. Conclusion

For years, the SAT and ACT in combination with high school grades, and extracurriculars have been considered the basic application for college admission. The purpose of these exams was to measure a high school student’s readiness for higher education. However, with it missing for future college applicants college admission officers will be forced to review other components in a higher regard begging the question: What is the new college application going to be like?

 

Relying more heavily on high school grades, designing a better standardized test or holding an admissions lottery: These are three ideas for replacing the SAT and ACT in college admission.

The purpose of the ACT test is to measure a high school student's readiness for college, and provide colleges with one common data point that can be used to compare all applicants. College admissions officers will review standardized test scores alongside your high school GPA, the classes you took in high school, letters of recommendation from teachers or mentors, extracurricular activities, admissions interviews, and personal essays. How important ACT scores are in the college application process varies from school to school.