The Useless Necessity: Why the SAT Isn’t Going Anywhere
by Robert J.
I’ve heard a little bit too much about how the SAT is
going to be obsolete in five years. This is mostly because I’ve
been hearing it since the early 1990s. Let’s face it:
the SAT isn’t going anywhere. Sure, it’s taking
on threats. Sure, its format is undergoing some changes. But,
one thing has kept, and will continue to keep, the SAT afloat:
It’s a reliably accurate predictor of college success.
Some critics would like to believe the opposite, but the bottom
line is that students who score higher on the SAT are more likely
to succeed at the college level. But, why?
The answer is simple: The SAT is possibly the worst aptitude
test in the history of the world. You see, ideally, an aptitude
test serves to measure your intellectual capacity. At the high
school level, it examines how well your methods of thinking
and problem solving skills are suited for the demands of a higher-level
education. Its results are thus designed to indicate your potential
for success in any intellectual endeavor, not just those related
to mathematics or English. When it comes to the SAT, we can
throw all that out the window.
The SAT is not an aptitude test. In fact, the acronym no longer
even stands for “Scholastic Aptitude Test.” That
name that was dropped after the introduction of the SAT II’s
in 1994. After a short stint as the “Scholastic Assessment
Test,” the College Board declared that SAT doesn’t
officially stand for anything anymore. It’s just the SAT.
So, if it’s not an aptitude test, what kind of test is
it? Simply put, the only thing that the SAT measures is how
well you can do on the SAT. This may not sound a very reliable
indicator of college success, but one characteristic serves
as the hidden backbone that keeps this beast alive: you can
study for it.
I had two close friends in high school who were inseparable
from one another. They took the same classes, got similar grades
and even took the SAT on the same day. One got a 1400, the other
an 1160. The difference: when the high scorer went home at night
the month before the test, he took practice tests and read up
on strategies. The lower scorer just showed up the day of the
test and took it cold. This small difference led to a significant
gap in scores between these two students of arguably equal intelligence
and aptitude. When I first heard this, I was enraged by the
seeming unfairness of the situation. A year later, I know better.
The student who scored a 1450 maintains a 4.0 at college. His
good friend is struggling to stay off of academic probation.
It’s almost as if the SAT knew how the two would perform.
Now, I know why.
It’s all about work ethic. Remember these two things:
First, the SAT only measures how well you can do on the SAT.
Nothing else. Next, the best way to increase your score is to
prepare specifically for the test. For example, just studying
“Math” won’t be nearly as helpful as studying
the types of math problems that have historically appeared on
the SAT.
When we combine these two statements, we get an interesting
result: The SAT is a measurement of how much time you’ve
spent preparing for the SAT. In other words, getting a top level
score relies on your willingness to spend hours of time studying
for something you may find boring and ultimately irrelevant.
This is the exact level of discipline that a student needs in
order to be successful in the early years of college. If you’re
self-motivated enough to master the absurd ins-and-outs of this
standardized test, odds are you’re fit to endure whatever
required class may come your way, however boring.
“But doesn’t that just prove how unfair the SAT
really is? Someone who can afford an expensive test prep class
has an unfair advantage!” Untrue. I know more people than
I can count on one hand who got 1600s using only a $30 test
prep book and a #2 pencil. More importantly, I know even more
people who spent thousands to prepare for the test and still
tanked it. It’s just like college. You can hire all the
private tutors you want. If you’re not listening to what
the professor says, studying after class and making yourself
care about the content of the course, you’re never going
to see an “A.” If you are doing all those things,
you probably don’t need the private tutor in the first
place.
Granted, there are some general exceptions to this scoring
trend. Some take the SAT cold and score highly, just as some
spend hours preparing and still don’t do as well as they
expected. Many factors can influence a score, including how
comfortable a student is with critical thinking and whether
or not they are a good test taker. These are qualities that
make for a successful college student as well. For the most
part, a given test taker has the potential to score in a set
range of scores. That range can span hundreds of points, however,
meaning any student can still benefit from preparing for the
test, even if the top of their range isn’t what might
be considered exemplary on a national level.
The bottom line is that the SAT’s unique makeup allows
it to remain a valuable tool for college admissions officials.
For the average student, it’s not an indicator of how
smart they are. It’s an indicator of how hard they’re
willing to work. For now, that means the SAT isn’t going
anywhere.
