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Recent News on the SAT’s

Recent News on the SAT’s 150 150 Suzanne

Standardized tests are a huge part of the current educational system, and it is a topic that gets a lot of discussion. Within the fray, there was a recent article in The New York Times which discussed the current state of SAT use amongst admissions officers in colleges across America.

The article shines interesting and, very useful, light on the importance of the SAT’s. Many colleges are no longer requiring the SAT’s and many are going SAT-optional. They are simply giving students a choice as to whether they want to include their SAT scores within their application. This landscape is really within the best interest of our nation’s students.

A few points are raised that are worthy of considering so as to help each teenager make the decision about the SAT’s which will be best for them. One point is about the ‘rite of passage’ which taking the SAT’s can be. The studying is intense, the study groups form bonds, and students learn a significant amount of critical test-taking strategies which, as they are higher-order insight, are useful. Taking a position that standardized testing is terrible for a child denies them this experience.

However, many children have very real test-anxiety. In such cases, should a rite of passage become something overwhelming, then maybe focusing the mental efforts elsewhere would be more beneficial to the student. Developing an additional extracurricular activity, doing more community service, taking on more courses – all are viable alternatives to taking the SAT’s, and weigh heavily when looking at one application next to another.

By making the SAT’s optional in the college admissions process, the level of competition really won’t change. Students are expected to present themselves for the admissions process based on a ranging application – essays, letters of recommendation, transcripts, extracurriculars, community involvement, values – all these make the student, and college admissions officers are looking for well-rounded kids.

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