Anonymous wrote:I think it’s telling that so many schools are moving back in this direction. Obviously, test optional was not working for those schools.

Maybe ironic is a better word?

Anonymous wrote:The whole TO thing is hurting really smart kids, I think. My DD got a 1290 which is better than 87% of the kids who took the test. But is just shy of the mean for the schools she wants to apply to and they are not even amazing schools in the DCUM sense(think Clemson, Penn State, UConn). If everyone had to submit their test scores, then it would be more fair and get a clearer picture of the applicants. I still remember when cracking 1100 was considered amazing back in the 1980’s! But this TO bullshit and “should we submit or not” is not great

1100 was never amazing.

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Anonymous wrote:Entitled parents sending their kids to SAT prep courses perpetuates inequities and only serves to widen the racial achievement gap. Wealthier students have unfair access to test preparation resources overall, which leads to unearned higher scores. This only heightens unearned white privilege and diminished access to education for BIPOCs.

And yet standardized testing is thought to be less influenced by wealth than high school attended, extracurriculars, jobs/internships, legacy and of course, donations.

As a UC parent I can honestly tell you we can buy our way into any private high school, the most unique ECs, and the most convincing essays. But prep after prep DC cannot get a 1300+ in sat. I genuinely wish every school is test blind so we could have more options.

I hear this a lot. People keep perpetuating the lie that 1500 scores are common and bought by test prep. No. It’s the smart immigrant kids getting 1500.

At a certain minimum, the sat has nothing to do with intelligence but how much effort you want to put into the sat. Our DD went from a 1300 to a 1590, and it was just because she studied for the damn thing.

Imagine, studying for an important exam.

The SATs measures academic aptitude. It's not an IQ test.

Studying for a test: legit.

Taking the same test six times because you don’t like the first five scores: lame.

Name me another academic test you get to take infinite times.

+1

This is the part that makes standardized testing a big racket.

The College Board benefits.

If you’re poor you can get a fee waiver, but only in 11th and 12th and no more than 2 weekend dates per year. An extremely modest proposal would be to restrict everyone to that same testing schedule: no weekend tests until 11th, and then no more than 2 per year.

That's not a bad idea.

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Anonymous wrote:I want the US to align itself with the rest of the world and only consider academics. Test scores should be a lot more central to the applications than they are now.

Why? You are free to attend college in another country if you want only academic considerations.

DP

Why?

Because we are losing the race. We are becoming an Idiocracy.

Anonymous wrote:But people fake disabilities for more time on tests. Nothing is pure.

I know it happens a lot but what sorry of parent tells their kids to trick the psychologist into giving them a diagnosis so they can get extra time. Literally teaching their kids to lie.

Anonymous wrote:EVERY school should be TEST REQUIRED and NO ONE should get extra time!

It's a STANDARDIZED test!

God damn!

NO PROBLEM JUST TAKE THE TEST FIVE OR SIX TIMES AND ONLY SEND THE VERBAL AND MATH SCORE YOU LIKE THE BEST, completely OBJECTIVE ALLAHU AKBAR.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:EVERY school should be TEST REQUIRED and NO ONE should get extra time!

It's a STANDARDIZED test!

God damn!

we also shouldn't allow for 504s or IEPs, right? Screw kids with SN.

Screw YOU.

The classroom experience is NOT the same thing as a STANDARDIZED test.

A kid with legit SN should get all the help they need (and can reasonably be provided) to learn the material.

But when they sit down for the ACT, everyone should take the SAME TEST under the SAME CONDITIONS.

Otherwise it's not really a standardized test.

DUH!

Well you know what, I’m sure my kid with a 504 and extra time would prefer not to have ADHD and be able to concentrate and do well without accommodations. But life isn’t fair and time and a half on a standardized test isn’t going to fix their brain chemistry and all the other issues these kids legitimately face b/c of their diagnosis’s . So stop being bitter and think about what you are suggesting.

Or maybe we should level the playing field and give all kids extra time, but they all need to take a pill to mimic ADHD/dyslexia/anxiety/etc. Does that sound fair in the name of standardizing things?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:EVERY school should be TEST REQUIRED and NO ONE should get extra time!

It's a STANDARDIZED test!

God damn!

we also shouldn't allow for 504s or IEPs, right? Screw kids with SN.

Screw YOU.

The classroom experience is NOT the same thing as a STANDARDIZED test.

A kid with legit SN should get all the help they need (and can reasonably be provided) to learn the material.

But when they sit down for the ACT, everyone should take the SAME TEST under the SAME CONDITIONS.

Otherwise it's not really a standardized test.

DUH!

Forgot to take your meds today?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:EVERY school should be TEST REQUIRED and NO ONE should get extra time!

It's a STANDARDIZED test!

God damn!

we also shouldn't allow for 504s or IEPs, right? Screw kids with SN.

Screw YOU.

The classroom experience is NOT the same thing as a STANDARDIZED test.

A kid with legit SN should get all the help they need (and can reasonably be provided) to learn the material.

But when they sit down for the ACT, everyone should take the SAME TEST under the SAME CONDITIONS.

Otherwise it's not really a standardized test.

DUH!

Anonymous wrote:EVERY school should be TEST REQUIRED and NO ONE should get extra time!

It's a STANDARDIZED test!

God damn!

we also shouldn't allow for 504s or IEPs, right? Screw kids with SN.

EVERY school should be TEST REQUIRED and NO ONE should get extra time!

It's a STANDARDIZED test!

God damn!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I want the US to align itself with the rest of the world and only consider academics. Test scores should be a lot more central to the applications than they are now.

Why? You are free to attend college in another country if you want only academic considerations.

Do you have any idea what a laughing stock American universities are abroad? They can't fathom what's going on here with DEI. That's why we sent our kids to Oxbridge.

Where did you get the idea that everyone overseas thinks American universities are a laughing stock? I haven’t come across. I’m sure most are well aware that there’s a huge range of colleges and some are not particularly academically rigourous but that doesn’t mean they write off the lot.

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Anonymous wrote:A standardized test is far better than going by inflated grades and faked extra-curriculars

1000+

+1 And let's not forget essays written by high priced consultants. People hate standardized tests, because unless you go full Aunt Becky and hire someone to try to pretend to be your kid and take the test, it's the only thing that's actually standardized and meritocratic between applicants.

No. People get extra time for bogus reasons. Pay off psych consultants.

Show your work. Where's the proof of this?

Anonymous wrote:But people fake disabilities for more time on tests. Nothing is pure.

That's a lot harder to fake than hiring people to help you write your essays and cultivate your EC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I want the US to align itself with the rest of the world and only consider academics. Test scores should be a lot more central to the applications than they are now.

Why? You are free to attend college in another country if you want only academic considerations.

Do you have any idea what a laughing stock American universities are abroad? They can't fathom what's going on here with DEI. That's why we sent our kids to Oxbridge.

"They" are sending their kids to US colleges.

Smart people don't make statements that are so easily disproven as if they are fact.