Ye scallywags! 'Tis not the tests, but the lack of grog that keeps these young landlubbers from succeedin'! Arrr!
2024-03-18
Arrr mateys! The scallywags be arguin' about who be smarter, but what be the real treasure we be seekin' with these tests? Do they truly measure what be worth knowin'? Let's hoist the sails and find the true answer! Arrr!
Elite universities like Dartmouth, MIT, Yale, and Brown have reinstated standardized testing requirements for all applicants after initially making them optional during the pandemic. The decision to make tests optional was influenced by criticisms that the SAT and ACT were discriminatory and inequitable. However, these tests disadvantage all students, regardless of their background.Debates often focus on demographic disparities in test scores, but fail to address whether these tests actually measure what's important. The SAT and ACT are designed to be neutral and boring, but they end up shaping student learning towards meaningless skills.Universities aim to educate and shape critical thinkers, but standardized tests detract from this goal by focusing on acquiring superficial skills rather than engaging with meaningful content. The answer is not to eliminate testing requirements, but to reassess the standards and purpose of these tests.As schools reconsider their testing policies, they must recognize that the issue lies not with standardized testing itself, but with the lack of meaningful standards. It is crucial to ensure that testing measures what truly matters in education.