It is that time of year when high school students have to start thinking about where they want to apply for college. In some cases, schools accept early admissions and seniors have already applied. It is also to time of year when the discussion turns back to admissions and what we do wrong and right. Depending on your beliefs, there are many answers to this question.
Inside Higher Ed has an article on the growing number of colleges dropping the SATs from their requirements (the comments are quite interesting as well). As a hater of standardized tests, having taken them from kindergarten, I love that schools are looking at alternate ways of measuring their applicants. I do not believe tests like the SAT are a validation of anything except how well you can remember math from years and years ago, how well you can sort out words in your head, and how much money you have to afford to get a tutor or take the test multiple times.
I know there are a lot of beliefs surrounding our standardized testing, but we need to start paying more attention to the issue as parents and as a profession that works with young people. Standardized testing is becoming more prevalant in K-12 across the country, as a way to measure the intelligence of our children. I have very conflicting and mixed feelings about these kinds of tests.
–Jane, hated taking them as a student