The SAT's are a complete and utter waste of time. They take up a whole 3 hours and 45 minutes of life and for what. I really don't think that the SAT's should be a requirement for people to get into college. The test is not a test of what you know it is a test of how you can take a test. Not everyone is a test taker which automatically counts them out when it comes to applying to the college of their choice. Something really needs to be done about the SAT being a requirement. I think that instead of looking at an SAT score colleges should look at the student as a whole, as far as extracuricular activites, community service, and overall grades throughout high school. These should be the things that matter, not a test score.
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Its a tough thing. I avoided the Sat's....
www.worldcantwait.com
I completely agree with you. I took the test at the end of my sophomore year and never went back. I am satisfied with a 1900 without studying. I know if I were to take it again, I would do much better. I know more math than I did before and I know more about english speech. People waste money on an entire industry to improve by only a little bit, so they can get into their college of choice. SATs aren't a measuremnt of who you are, but rather how much of high school did you remember and store in your brain. As a high school senior, many of my friends just went through the stresses of retesting in order to get closer to a perfect score. Some were ecstatic, while others looked like their cat just got ran over. the system needs to change, because numbers and rankings arent the way to go. look at me as a person and you have my respect. look at me by my gpa and class rank and you have no idea who i really am.
If you believe, you can achieve.
We all hate the SATs since it's an illogical way of admitting students, but they really don't have a choice. There are just too many kids to look over. So they create this bs test that you can hardly study for and not all your teachers teach the material anyway.
BAN SATs! They're stupid.
It is hard for schools to decided between applicants without quantifiable information about the students intelligence and that is what the SAT's are an attempt at even though they fail miserably.
I agree with you completely, because I recently took the ACT, and the math section was trigonometry, calculus, and algebra. I knew how to do the algebra, but the trig and calculus I was completely lost on. Now it's going to count against me, I already got into a college but I'm on academic probation, but I didn't get into the teaching program, and to get into that you need a good math, reading, and english score, but I bombed the math.
They should make special accommodation's for some students for the SAT and the ACT
There is no calculus on the ACT. There is only about 4 questions on trig/precal. And even without answering those 4 questions correctly you can still score high on the ACT.
*~Heidi~*
Yes. I'm not good at math at all, and I still pulled out a 30.
well, if you consider that much of the questions on the ACT can be resolved through calculus techniques, it is understandable that she guessed that the questions she did not understand were calc problems. but you're right, you dont need calc to get a good ACT score....(unlike the Suck-Ass-Test)
I agree. It's all about training yourself to take the test. Waste of time and money.
How else would colleges decide?
I suppose you're right. The new SAT is not as bad as the old anyway-- they seem to be trying to improve it.
I still think it was a waste of money. The first 2 should be free.
The people who make the SAT are all about profits unfortunately there is no way they would ever give it away for free. The only reason they changed it is because the UC system threatened to stop using the SAT's.
I'm older than you folks but I once sat for those tests too and have children facing it. I don't see where memorizing so many answers to so many questions and being able to regurgitate as many as you can correctly and and as fast as you can determines one's intellect. Since when is "beating the clock" a prerequisite for intelligence? I know brilliant people who scored poorly on them, and people who amounted to nothing who did well. Furthermore, they descriminate against persons with learning disabilities even with their so-called "accommodations." The reasons schools still use them is because they are too cheap and too lazy to to examine applicants as "people" rather than numbers.
NO.
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I think the SAT's are extremely necessary. The SAT's more accurately compares you to other students in the nation. GPA is not always reliable, because the diffculty of a class ranges in each school. My school, for example, has an A, B, and C track. From what I've observed, student who had straight A's in A and B tend to do significantly worst when they switch to C track, the magnet track. SAT's and AP exams make up for shortcomings of the GPA system.
Agreed. There's only so many ways you can do this sort of thing.
The SAT is extremely unnecessary, unreliable, and inconsistent. I took the SAT and didn't do as I had hoped. I retook it and got unexpected scores. I took the ACT twice and my scores were predictable, consistent, and in contrary to the SAT, good. According to the SAT, I wouldn't succeed in college. I have gotten an A in every college class I have taken.
Not to say there aren't shortcomings of the GPA system. But there are other options.
a math teacher told someone that the ACT tests your knowledge more than the SAT and most colleges require the ACT and not the SAT for that reason. I'm not going to take the SAT unless a college i want to apply to requires it.
It is definitely not the most enjoyable test to take, but it is a way for colleges to measure the thousands of applicants that apply. Some schools are more challenging for students, while some are easier. This standardized test truly measures all students on the same level. It is fair for students, as a whole.
No! They aren't necessary. There are other options. Better ones. I think the SAT should be abolished. So does this guy, and he was accepted to Harvard with his good scores: http://www.american.com/archive/2007/july-august-magazine-contents/aboli...
for that matter, none of collegeboard's tests are necessary. those people are making way too much fucking money!