Some people will argue
that standardized testing doesn't display how smart a person is. Some people
believe that the testing isn’t a good indicator of how smart someone is and
think the tests are only for colleges and companies to make money. Some people
are wrong. It is true they make a profit on students taking tests, however they
would be out of business if they didn’t provide an accurate service. There are “Approximately
4,168 colleges if you count all 2- and 4-year colleges, including those that
are for-profit”(talk.confidential.com/ author Hoedown). And there are only
about “850 colleges that don't require SAT or ACT Scores.”
(Collegeapps.about.com/ author Allen Groove) Why would about 3300 colleges use a test or
information that isn’t the best and might not be the most accurate? They
wouldn’t, which is why, to this day, the ACT and SAT are two of the main
indicators of who gets in to college and who does not. The reason why standardized
tests are so effective is because of their real world application and the
relevant information that it tests. There is a reason why colleges today use
standardized testing as a scale of knowledge and intelligence. It is because it
is currently the most accurate way to judge how smart a person is. Standardized
testing is a more effective test of how smart someone is than grade point
average.
The first thing to understand is the word “smart”. The
dictionary defines it as “having or showing a quick-witted intelligence”. The
first word to focus in on in this definition is quick. There are some critics who say that the ACT isn’t fair
because it is timed and some people are not good at timed tests. Well, being quick is a requisite of being smart. So,
the fact that the ACT is timed actually makes measuring how smart a person is
even more accurate. If it was not timed, then they would not be measuring how
quick someone can draw upon their previously learned information. However, it
would still be a better indicator of how smart someone is than GPA.
Standardized testing is a better system of measuring GPA
for three main reasons. The first reason is that GPA has too many areas in
which there are variables where mistakes can be made. For instance, a teacher
may not like a student and therefore will give him lower grades and a harder
time in class. Another student that the teacher likes will have an easier time
and get better grades. Notice how the work they did and the knowledge they
absorbed are not even included in this example, yet the person whom the teacher
prefers gets a higher grade. The second reason is that homework is a part of
the grading system. I can go home and look up all of my homework online and get
a one hundred on all my homework assignments. I haven’t actually learned
anything, however, my grade shows that I did and that I am knowledgeable on the
subject. Standardized testing tests what knowledge you have and how well you
can apply it, while homework can be done by looking up things on the internet
and gaining outside information. The third reason is that it levels the playing
field for all students, because everyone takes the same test and there are no
biases by teachers or unforeseen variables.
Standardized testing gives students a fair chance to
display how smart they are. They get the chance to show how much information
they have retained and how quickly and effectively they can apply it. It is
more effective than grade point average because it equals the playing field for
all students who take it. There are no advantages of easy teachers who give easy tests or negative biases that can skew the scores.
These
are the reasons that standardized testing is the most accurate way to display
how smart someone is, and the reason people and companies all through America
use the results as valid information.
Works Cited
http://collegeapps.about.com/b/2012/09/08/now-850-test-optional-colleges.htm
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