CHANGES TO THE SAT--Thanks to the students who suggested this weeks topic!
1. Read both articles. Consider the author's tone, structure of the article, validity of evidence, persuasive techniques, and your personal reaction. Is one article more persuasive than the other? Why?
1. Read both articles. Consider the author's tone, structure of the article, validity of evidence, persuasive techniques, and your personal reaction. Is one article more persuasive than the other? Why?
2. Please add an intelligent comment (minimum 3 sentences) in response to the linked articles from The New York Times. Be sure to reference specifics from both.
3. Optional: Comment on a classmates post in a second post (minimum 3 sentences)
*Use only your first name, last initial and class period.
3. Optional: Comment on a classmates post in a second post (minimum 3 sentences)
*Use only your first name, last initial and class period.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/magazine/the-story-behind-the-sat-overhaul.html?action=click&contentCollection=Business%20Day&module=MostEmailed&version=Full®ion=Marginalia&src=me&pgtype=article
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/03/07/opinion/save-us-from-the-sat.html?emc=eta1&_r=0&referrer=
Even though both articles are by the New York Times, I found that "The Story Behind the SAT Overhaul" was much more informative than "Save Us From the SAT". Just by seeing the titles one can deduce which article actually has factual information and which one is an emotional story that some could even argue qualifies as a "sob story". While reading "Save Us From the SAT" I almost took offence at some of the accusations, such as "I can also point out another problem with the test: It usually starts around 8:30 in the morning. I don’t know if the members of the College Board have ever met a 17-year-old at that hour, but I can tell you this is not the time of day I would choose to test their ability to do anything, except perhaps make orangutan sounds." or " Our children, precious, brilliant, frustrating, confused souls that they are, are more than a set of scores." I would not have had a problem with this article if it wasn't written by someone so ignorant. Apparently the only thing I'm capable of doing before 8:30 in the morning is making orangutan sounds? Okay. Apparently we are "confused souls"? Okay. The author of this article was supposedly an educator for upwards of 25 years. She should be able to understand that the reason why student's are so tired is because a lot of them stay up till midnight doing "busy work" and then wake up at five in the morning to get ready for the day. A lot of student's drink coffee constantly just to stay awake. There is A REASON why the Dunkin Donuts across the street does such good business.
ReplyDeleteThe article titled "The Story Behind the SAT Overhaul" contained actual factual information all the while getting emotion out of the way of their viewpoint.
Shoshanna Longo
Period 6
I totally agree with Shoshanna as she makes a great point about the second article and the author's ignorant and rude attitude. While I don't agree that students stay up until midnight doing busy work and wake up at 5, which is apparently why the Dunkin does so good, I agree with the rest of what she said about the articles, a point I tried to make in my argument.
DeleteMegan Glynn Period 3
While I, like every other student my age, has no desire to wake up at 7 oclock on a saturday to waste away my day, i do realize the importance of a standardized test to measure the success capability of a college bound student. Save us from the SAT seems to say that the grades a student gets, are a good average of the grades i CAN get. I strongly disagree, as I think grades test obedience. Grades do not test capabilities. My grade-point-average is that of someone who is destined to go no where in life, because i feel that a B is worth the much smaller amount of time the A takes. However my test scores indicate a much higher possibility for success, and let it be know that i just took them. No tutors or anyuthing.
ReplyDeleteBut to debate the changes needed, i feel the SAT could possibly benifit from becoming more defined, with information people need to know. To me, it seems like the president of College Board is on the right track with portraying the “message to students that studying their course material in high school, not taking extracurricular test-prep courses that tend to focus on test-taking skills, is the way to do well on admission tests and succeed in a rigorous college curriculum.”
I think the SAT is a necessary evil, and i hope it stays around for future generations to help other lazy kids, just as it has helped me.
Ben G
Per 6
So long as SAT still stands for standard aptitude test, this exam will not accurately do what it was made for. Aptitude is defined as the natural ability to do something. The test which I took this past, however, was not testing my natural abilities at all. Instead, it was testing my ability to apply dozens of memorized vocabulary words - none of which are used in advanced textbooks, let alone every day speaking. This being said, a test that truly measures aptitude would have little to no familiar questions. Even the new SAT will be aced only by people who decide to study specifically for this one exam. The only argument I could see the College Board making would be that you aren't expected to actually learn the complicated things (like the vocabulary), but you were instead supposed to apply general language skills to dissect the words themselves to learn their meaning while you were taking the test. This logic is flawed because it assumes that everyone either will or won't be learning all the vocabulary. So, I do have to say that I favor the change to eliminate absurd vocabulary from the future exam. However, if the test were really to become a true test of aptitude, the overall average scores would be far worse, and colleges would have to decrease the influence of the score on any given person's chance of acceptance. If you can study for a test, it isn't measuring you're aptitude. Jennifer Boylan has an agreeable perspective on this when she says "The only way to measure students’ potential is to look at the complex portrait of their lives." Fortunately, American colleges already look at a lot more than our test scores, because this is a fairly universal thought.
ReplyDeleteSomething else I'd really like to express my opinion about is possible penalties for guessing in the multiple choice section of any standardized tests. I don't think the penalty is high enough. The only acceptable reason, in my opinion, to not deduct a full point for giving a wrong answer on a multiple choice question, is that perhaps you are testing a students ability to find an answer based on everything he or she knows that makes the other possible answers wrong. The first article talks about time wasted on the "risk analysis" regarding guessing. This time isn't wasted, its just like making any other important decision under pressure in life. People shouldn't be afraid to fail, and they also shouldn't be indecisive and slow to make important decisions. I'd like to take a standardized test where every wrong answer hurts your score as much as a right answer helps your score.
Cameron O'Neill P. 6
Jonathan Williams, p6
ReplyDeleteI believe that both of these articles are persuasive but in different ways. The first article, "The Story Behind the SAT overhaul" is persuasive in that it uses logic to explain the issues with SAT's. For example, she explains, "There already is something that accurately mirrors the grades a student gets in school. Namely: the grades a student gets in school." This makes a lot of sense because it's almost always the students with good grades who do well and the people with bad grades who perform badly. I agree that right now, it's kind of pointless to put so much importance in one test when colleges already have grades to look at. Even though the second article doesn't pick a specific side, it's still persuasive because it lets the reader pick a side using the facts that are given. For example, a researcher explained, "What Coleman found exciting about the intervention was its use of the standardized tests as a way to reach students who would otherwise not apply to the kinds of colleges that they might assume were out of reach." The argument is that tests give an opportunity to those who are less fortunate. This is a reasonable argument, but I don't agree that such importance should be placed on a single test.
I am the type of person who will flourish in school because my hard work defines my intelligence; however, I don't do well with standardized testing. Everyone always tells me, "You'll be fine. I didn't even study and I got a 2200 on my exam." Truth of the matter is that I'm not fine. When I panic at the short timings of the SAT, I blank and all I see are the blur of what seems to be words on paper. The SAT is no measure for me. I could get into a lot colleges with the record I have. (That wasn't meant to sound boastful in anyway), but the SAT downplays my application."As The Store Behind the SAT Overhaul" says, "Students despised the SAT not just because of the intense anxiety it caused — it was one of the biggest barriers to entry to the colleges they dreamed of attending — but also because they didn’t know what to expect from the exam and felt that it played clever tricks, asking the kinds of questions they rarely encountered in their high-school courses." The SAT is my barrier to college. Its terrifying knowing that every Asian kid I know gets from 2000-2400 and the pressure builds knowing if I can't get that score. My parents look to me to get that score. It is my life, but I want to please them as much as I want to please myself. With the changing SAT, I think people like me taking the test this year and possible the next would get a bit of a break. Colleges aren't so "dependent" on these test scores. They don't accurately define potential. As "Save Us From the SAT" said, "The possibility of that leap is unlikely to be measured by a test involving bubble sheets." My future college potential doesn't lie in the SAT. If people saw my test score they would ask me time and time again, "With this score how are you getting straight As and Bs?" The answer is I don't know. I just don't test well. I work hard, I study for these tests, but the sheer stress of it is overwhelming. Also as "Save Us From the SAT" mentions 8:30, I am not awake by then. Usually on a Saturday morning I'm fully functioning in the afternoon. Maybe College Board should take this under consideration too. Regarding the changes itself. I do appreciate how they are trying to make this easier, but no test will ever correctly measure a student's potential in college. One may flourish, another 1580 scorer on the new test might end up dropping out or become a slacker. People will ever know. I appreciate Coleman's efforts described in the NY Times article and I have to agree with one thing. Our country isn't the only one taking SAT. The SAT is an international test. So yes the SAT is the universal measuring tool. People in China, North Korea, Japan, etc all take this to get into the "American Dream School". The pool of competitiveness these days is unreal. The SAT is currently the only test that measures everyone's ability. For kids like us and generations to come, the competitiveness only gets worse. It only gets more competitive. As more and more people flock to America for college, the worse the selection pool gets. The SAT is significant. Hence why this change does provide some criticism. It reflects the American school, but it doesn't reflect internationally. So these two articles provide valid opinions and information, thus the only question I pose is. This eases American kids load, but what about everyone else? Think about it.
ReplyDeleteMiranda Shao, Period 6
Even though both articles are from New York times, i have to say that they both had good points. They basically both talked about how the SAT shouldn't determine a students fate on where they go to college..because for most students, including me, its nerve wrecking to take a SAT test, and some people in high school even have anxiety, and have it more towards tests, and may bubble in an answer, but then change it, because they think it may be wrong, even though a majority of the time, the first answer you put, is always correct. Like me, for example, i don't typically do well in standard test taking in school, it makes me nervous, and then the more nervous i get, i usually end up failing. In one of the articles about Coleman, and his points on the SAT testing, a quote stood out to me, and it stated, "What Coleman found exciting about the intervention was its use of the standardized tests as a way to reach students who would otherwise not apply to the kinds of colleges that they might assume were out of reach." This to me, means a lot, because i basically had the same thoughts as Coleman did.. It makes students think, if i don't pass this SAT test, all my hard work studying for it, will mean absolutely nothing. Usually, students in high school, such as myself, put off the SAT as long as possible, basically until last minute. If you took a survey, most students want to get the SAT over with, but more people aren't ready, and are too nervous to take it at this time, and want to wait until they offer the last testing of the SAT, and that is what i am going to do. I think Coleman did a good job explaining in the NY times article and i have to agree with one of the things that was said by him. Our country, isn't the only one taking the SAT, and we can all agree on that, it is an international test, so typically, we are all suffering together, right? Everyone, including me, wants to get into their college of their "dreams", and what if they do fail the SAT? Is it going to affect the college they've always dreamed of going to? What if it does? The SAT is significant, and this is why this change does provide some criticism towards the issue about the international SAT testing. These two articles provide valid opinions and information, and the only question that i have for the two articles is; this makes it easier for the American kids load but what about everyone else taking the SAT? Now that's something to think about..right?
ReplyDeleteCassie Vaccaro, Period 7
Stephanie Durso Period:7
DeleteI agree that most people have anxiety towards tests especially Sats. We are told over and over how important this test is.I think that more than just one test should determine what college you get into. Should one test determine what college you get into and how well you would do . I feel that we should be able to choose a school that reflects our grades and our ability level.That is why we have guidance counselors and teachers to keep in prospective what type of school we would be most successful at.
I myself am not a big fan of standardized testing because where i come from we dont have tests or quizzes and our school was the best out of all the districts. Another thing is the SAT test where i come from we dont have those but they are optional except college for us was less competitive because it was free mostly if you were a citizen in Poland. Also i dislike how they are going to let grades judge my future because everyone is intellegent in some form or fasion but u cant test our type of knowledge and judging us through our grades because u dont get to see the person for how they work but how they "Test" and that could close a lot of opportunities for people who arent school smart or book smart as they say.
ReplyDeleteRicky Pietruszka
Period 7
I don't really believe in standardized testing because everyone gets a different level of education depending who's teaching you, what classes you take, what school you attend, etc. It's unfair to give everyone the same test and to judge their ability on it because not everyone is taught the same curriculum. Plus some people have an unfair advantage to take SAT classes. Some people don't have the money to attend or they're not provided at their school. Not only that but SATS are such a stressful thing that they almost burden your school work and just life in general. I think you'd benefit more from just focusing on your school work and learning rather than stressing out so hard for the SATS.
ReplyDeleteJack Murray Period 8
The SAT will never be the perfect test but it will always serve as an indicator as to the ability of each students math, reading, and writing abilities. Colleges look at these scores to understand how successful their students will be upon admission. The tests may be unfair to certain students based on income levels but these low scorers will never have success at top universities because they don't have the mental ability. I found an interesting quote about why the SAT needs an overhaul, ‘When is there a situation in either college or life where you’re asked to write on demand about something you’ve never once thought about?’ well the point is not to write a life-story about the topics, it's about the writers ability to formulate ideas as quickly and efficiently as possible. To say the SAT needs a re-haul is ridiculous, sure there are ways to get higher scores but in the end, high scores are hard to achieve and it takes intelligence which colleges are looking for. If there are methods to score higher than why not take advantage of the system? "overall the the changers are intendted to make the SAT scores mirror the grades achieved in the classroom" which is interesting but impossible in the same sense. I've met plenty of students on honor roll who can't properly recite the ABC's. High grades aren't much of an accomplishment because all it takes is focused. Scoring high on the SATS should be an accomplishment and remain as an accomplishment because they are truly difficult.
ReplyDeleteAlec
George Hartlin P.7
ReplyDeleteI read both articles from the NY Times and when I compared them I saw fact verse opinion. The first article explains how the SAT was original created to see what level the student was at in a classless environment. "When the Scholastic Aptitude Test was created in 1926, it was promoted as a tool to create a classless, Jeffersonian-style metitocracy." This shocked me in that the test to me seems more like a key to college rather then a classless test to determine the learning level of the student. Then I came across how the author of the second article kept making up excuses to get off of the subject of the test. "I don’t know, maybe D) cephalopod? I looked up for a second at the back of the head of the girl in front of me. She had done this amazing thing with her hair, sort of like a French braid. I wondered if I could do that with my hair." If I was taking a major test to determine my future I wouldn't exactly get that distracted. Plus the author became a English Major yet in the whole article on the recap of the test she seemed to distracted to become such a smart person. I read both articles looking for little details and over all it seems the first was a true article in that it had the history and other important facts and the second one was told in a manor of a person who procrastinates and for an english major that seems hard to believe. The person in the first article tried hard and long to change the SAT in order to benefit the student and the author in the second article just gave a opinionated reason why the SAT is so useless. Coleman thought to himself that maybe by using Khan Academy online test program could be integrated into a prep for the SAT for low income family's who can not afford a tutor. He also believed by changing the vocab to students own vocab instead of something they haven't used or will use it might benefit them more when being tested. Coleman took the time to introduce his ideas to the chairman of the SAT test community. Over all I found the first paragraph more interesting due to that facts involved and the fact that Coleman tried and may succeed in improving the SAT. If I could ask Coleman one question it would be, "do you see yourself as a savior to the future students of the United States.
The SATs are something that every junior in high school dreads. For some people, it is something they spend countless hours studying for and tons of money on for preparation materials such as tutors and books. Others, it is just the mere time spent in class going over the format of the test. I would agree that these standardized tests really only effectively measure your test taking skills, however, for some people it is to their advantage. There are many different types of students out there and I believe that these tests are not to make it harder for some to get into the college of their dreams but to showcase their different strengths and weaknesses. Some people might be really good students in class and really good test takers but others might be really good test takers and not very good in the classroom and some might be really good students in class but not very good test takers. Anyone applying to colleges would know that the major things an admissions officer will look at are your GPA, SAT, and ACT scores. So the best you can do is to have high scores all around, but for some people that might just not be possible, even if they spend lots of time and money preparing. For those students where its one or the other they excel at I think the best option for a school is one that is SAT or ACT optional. In a study mentioned in one of the articles that at 33 universities and colleges (all did not require standardized test scores) there was "no significant difference in college G.P.A. or graduation rates between those who had submitted tests and those who had not." Clearly from this data the test scores don't show a persons ability in a classroom, however I believe it provides a good second chance to those that may not have the best grades to get into a college. Although a nuisance, I think tests like the SAT and ACT are necessary as a process for college admissions. I also believe more schools should become test score optional, as it gives a student a chance to improve their application by either including the scores or not including them.
ReplyDeleteJessica M.
Period 6
How can someone’s intelligence be judged by such unhearted test. The test is not even what we cover in school. To be frank, it completely the opposite. As a student who just took SAT over the weekend, you have no clue how worried I was. English section was not the problem it was the math one. At least we do some activities related to SAT in english class, no such activities exist in our math class and statistics pops up saying American students are poor in math in standardized tests. That’s so because the questions on SAT just come out of the blue. Also, we have to write and substantiate essay on topics we would think or even care to think about in 25 mins. On top of that there are endless number of vocabularies, which we will probably not use, at least 50%. And, how can someone’s career be judged by these little tests with such limiting, stressing and fearful minutes. Just because of the stress of how to write a wonderful essay, our brain sort of freezes, we can’t even begin to write for the first 5 mins. Jennifer Finney Boylan makes a great point by saying, “The only way to measure students’ potential is to look at the complex portrait of their lives: what their schools are like; how they’ve done in their courses; what they’ve chosen to study; what progress they’ve made over time; how they’ve reacted to adversity. Of course colleges try to take these nuanced portraits into account, but too often they’re overshadowed by the SAT. Our children, precious, brilliant, frustrating, confused souls that they are, are more than a set of scores.” She is completely right. On top of all this, the test is early in the morning, when students are still half asleep. Give them some time so they can come prepared and at least have the opportunity to have breakfast, because that can tremendously affects students’ concentration. Overall,...So, yes this format needs to be changed. That’s absolutely sure. Coleman is in the right path and college board should be trusted for this. But, how about the students who already took the stressful SAT and the one’s who are planning to take it before the new test arrives? What happens to them if they score low but have high academic stance?
ReplyDelete~Shilpa R Period 3
In my opinion the SATs are a very unfair test. Not everyone gets the same exact edcation, whether its because they don't have the money to or they just simply go to a sub-par school in their area. The difference in these educations can be the difference in a good SAT and a not so good score, and this result is strictly based on wealth. In the article "Save Us From the SAT" it said, " It favors the rich, who can afford preparatory crash courses." This shows that the wealthy have a greater advantage for preparing for the SAT because they can afford tutors and more classes. Also the SAT doesn't deal with stuff that is being done in the classroom but more on difficult logic. According to the article "The Story Behind The SAT Overhaul," "Teachers, too, felt the test wasn’t based on what they were doing in class." This shows that the test isn't testing the current knowledge of the students but testing the tricks that they know about the test. Overall, I believe that the changes to the test are a good decision and it is unfortunate that we will not be taking the new and improved test.
ReplyDeleteOwen K
per 8
Conor Duffy
DeletePeriod: 7
I agree, the SAT’s are an unfair test for students without the same educational level. Money shouldn't be a factor toward the student and the test. But it is. Students in the lower educational level may not be as capable as the student in an expensive private school receiving the tools to pass these tests. So in reality. The College Board shouldn't raise the difficulty of the test; but make it as fair for any other school/ student to take the test.
Caroline M.
ReplyDeletePeriod 2
This past weekend many juniors across the United States had to sit in a room from 8am to about 1:30pm to take a test that pretty much has a huge factor in deciding our future. However, myself and I'm sure many others didn't just spend only about 5 hours on SAT's, we've spent many hours a week (and will continue to) on SAT prep. Not only time was spent but also money and usually that money is coming out of our parents pockets. SAT may stand for "Scholastic Aptitude Test," but it should really stand for "Nothing." Today our SAT scores are a deciding factor for a college admission officer for admitting someone into their school or not. Today Greater numbers of colleges and universities are no longer requiring the SAT, ACT, and other standardized tests, going “test optional.” This is because many colleges feel that the SAT and the ACT are not an accurate prediction of how well you will do in college. These colleges feel that there are other ways for students to show that they are highly motivated to do well academically. When it comes to academic measures, test-optional colleges put the most emphasis on your high school GPA and class rank. However, their are still many schools that do require test scores and this sucks for people who are not good a taking standardize test. I am one of those people. I get tutored every week and now I am waiting silently to see my test score or should I say my future. The test today wont be any different then the new SAT that will take place in 2016. They both are and will be a waste of time and stressful. Kids don't need anymore stress then they already have with school and sports. SAT's should really stand for: "Students Against Testing"
Jackson Mariotti
ReplyDeletePeriod 6
It is about time that the SAT is changing. Often times I have heard people say that the SAT is not of test of your intelligence; it is a test of how well you take the SATs. That is not fair and is not a good way of evaluating whether a student deserves to go to a certain college or not. Colleges focus a lot on SAT performance, even over school grades. It would not be a problem if the SAT accurately showed the students intelligence but unfortunately it doesn't. The most interesting statistic from the article is that students who had weaker SAT exams but good grades did well in college while the inverse is not true. Todd Balf explains that, "they saw that students with good high-school grades did well in college, even if they had weak SAT scores. But students with weaker high-school grades — even with strong SATs — did less well in college". There are multiple problems that the two articles highlight, the main two being that it causes too much anxiety and that it gives an unfair advantage to the rich. Jennifer Boylan describes the SATs as "a mind-numbing, stress-inducing ritual of torture". Those are not kind words. Her article was much more passionate than the other, a personal anecdote with the intention to disparage the SATs. The other article discussed more than just one personal opinion. I for one am glad of the change and only upset that it did not come soon enough for me to take the new test.
I recently took the SAT (last Saturday, the 8th). Mine was at 7:30 am, and I woke up at 6am to get ready, get there early and maybe throw a little studying in there as well. While I understand the importance of a test to measure our core capabilities, the SAT does no such things. It is FACT that some of the vocabulary on the SAT and most of the math on the SAT are things that we HAVEN'T learned in school and can ONLY be found on the SAT. Why is the SAT a test on what we've learned in school if it has material ONLY ever found on the SAT? To measure how well we study for the unpredictable, the unknown? While it is important to take the SAT and get a good grade, it is NOT needed for all colleges, and some colleges barely even look at the scores. The hype about the SAT and getting good grades is too high, leading many, like myself, to have anxiety attacks the night before. Is that what we should put our students through? I think not. I believe that the change of the SAT, the integration into what we actually learn in school and need/learn in/for life is great; however, I do not believe that it should happen in 2016 but rather in 2015, to make it fair for the people who are just missing it by a hair and not have them be the last ones to take a really hard test because, all things considered, it's just rude. A slap in the face.
ReplyDeleteBack to the articles, I believe with Shoshanna Longo's post that the author of the first article and the overall tone and structure of the first article, 'The Story Behind The SAT', has a more professional tone to it, an unbiased one. The author of the second article, 'Save Us From The SAT', clearly had some problems as a teenager, leading her to grow up to despise the SAT and to insult teenagers by saying that we can't wake up decent before noon, just because she probably couldn't because she maybe was on the computer up until late hours. The first article was more educational and I actually learned something from it, whereas the second was a pain to read. I mean, honestly; "...orangutan noises"?
Megan Glynn Period 3
I do not believe that standardized testing expresses a student's intelligence. I am especially against the SAT's because it is simply testing someone's ability to take a test. A student must memorize pointless vocabulary and learn various strategies in order to receive a high score. Not only is it set up in a bad manner, but colleges take into consideration these scores when deciding whether or not a student will be excepted into their school. This disturbs me more than anything, because the test is not proving anybody's capabilities. The article, "Save Us From the SAT's" says, "I daydreamed for a while, thinking about the architecture of braids. When I remembered that I was wasting precious time deep in the heart of the SAT, I swore quietly to myself." I think this is an accurate depiction of the reality of this test. It is not gaining an accurate representation of a student.
ReplyDeleteClaire Paterson
Class 3
Both articles were persuasive, but I feel as id " Save Us From the SAT" was better because it told a personal story. "The Story Behind the SAT Overhaul" was very informative but "Save Us From The SAT" was almost an emotional story and is very relate able. I think that it is a good thing that the SAT's are changing; I have heard countless people talk about how it is not am measurement of intelligence, it just shows how well you take a test. If changing the SAT's means it will help those who take it find more successful scores, then I feel as if it should happen. "The stakes should emerge because the work is important and your demonstration of that is significant.” We should not stress and prepare for a test that does not show our intelligence. We don't even prepare for the actually test a lot of the time, we prepare for how to TAKE the test, which does not show what we can actually do.
ReplyDeleteEmma S
period 3
Stephanie Durso Period:7
ReplyDeletePersonally I think both articles were informative. Both articles the point across that something needs to be changed when it comes to SATS. Citing that these tests are not on an even playing field and do not show a students potential in college. Stressing a student out and basing their entire life off this one test is messed up. I do though agree that the second article was more persuasive and got the point across without writing so much. Keeping the article condense, but still informed. It also helped to hear a personal account because it seems that once someone takes this test they forget how terrible it was and that others are still be tested that way. In article one it explained that Sat isnt based off of what high school teaches you.
'Students despised the SAT not just because of the intense anxiety it caused — it was one of the biggest barriers to entry to the colleges they dreamed of attending — but also because they didn’t know what to expect from the exam and felt that it played clever tricks, asking the kinds of questions they rarely encountered in their high-school courses." Though I agree that the sat need adjustments I feel that I agree more with article two. The author explains that sats are not very useful and not much could be changed."The SAT is a mind-numbing, stress-inducing ritual of torture. The College Board can change the test all it likes, but no single exam, given on a single day, should determine anyone’s fate.I mostly agree with this last statement because one test should not determine the rest of your life.Most would agree that the sat is not useful and that nothing could really be changed to fix the sats so that it would be useful.
Personally u think that both articles are filled with important information regarding the SATS. the point that was very clear to me while reading the articles is that change needs to take place within the SATS. not only does the article say this but i have heard that people feel as though the SAT is not a good judgment on if kids should go to college or not. It doesnt show an even playing field. the second article also says the same thing just in a different way but i think that the first article is a little better due to it explaining the problem a little better. it gives more detail about the SATS and what they are "suppossed" to do. i feel that the only thing that the SAT does is make people stress out. All teenagers freak out when SATs come around and on top of school tennagers dont need that. Some serious action is needed very soon.
ReplyDeleteQuinn U
class 8
I think that the "save us from the SAT" was more persuasive. It looked at the topic with a personal point of view which is much more relatable to me. I think it is way easier to understand the meaning of the article when it is taken from a personal perspective. I believe that the SAT's should not account for whether you go to college or not. I agree with this article because of the following quote "no single exam, given on a single day, should determine anyone’s fate". This means that just one test shouldn't predict whether you have a bright future or not. In conclusion i don't think that the SAT's should be so important and colleges and schools should look at other factors before accepting a student into college.
ReplyDeleteNick T
Per 8
The SAT's are a test that don't really show how intelligent one may be. How does memorizing vocabulary, writing an essay, and using formulas to solve math equations reflect directly on someone's intellect. I myself am a bad test taker and are the SAT is yet another test that doesn't show how smart I am with one test. The articles used good persuasion and evidence to support that a change to the SAT would be for the better. I would have to agree, that by changing up the SAT it will provide students with better opportunity to show their intelligence. Currently the SAT is flawed as students who write the essay don't even have to be on topic and will still receive a good score. "More recently, Perelman coached 16 students who were retaking the test after having received mediocre scores on the essay section. He told them that details mattered but factual accuracy didn’t. “You can tell them the War of 1812 began in 1945,” he said. He encouraged them to sprinkle in little-used but fancy words like “plethora” or “myriad” and to use two or three preselected quotes from prominent figures like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, regardless of whether they were relevant to the question asked. Fifteen of his pupils scored higher than the 90th percentile on the essay when they retook the exam, he said." How does the system currently in place reflect on a student's intellect? With some fancy words and some made up facts, you can see your SAT scores increase on the essay section. The way that the SAT is designed doesn't allow for students to show how smart they truly are.
ReplyDeleteIn the articles, it is stressed that the SATs are unfair due to the inequality of available prep for different classes and the fact that the test does not accurately portray one's intelligence, among other reasons. These are the two reasons that stood out to me as the most controversial and interesting. The first article states that, "they (students) didn’t know what to expect from the exam and felt that it played clever tricks, asking the kinds of questions they rarely encountered in their high-school courses." I think this statement is interesting because it shows that some students that were not able to pay for expensive prep courses were not able to sufficiently prepare for the test because they did not know the common tricks on the SAT. The other controversial topic from the articles is that the test does not accurately test one's intelligence. It is completely unfair for students to be tested on material such as vocabulary words that are not a common part of schooling. This makes kids go towards memorization instead of understanding of SAT material which is not a true test of intelligence, but rather testing a student's memory. It is a good thing that the SAT is being reworked in order for it to be a more accurate measure of intelligence.
ReplyDeletePeriod 8
I am happy that colleges and test makers are realizing the difficulty and consequences of the SAT, however, I am not sure that changing the test will make that much of a difference. The test will still be widely looked at from colleges as a big factor toward acceptance and the stress of test preparation will remain the same. Although they are offering online courses from Khan Academy, this will only do so much to level out the playing field. Those who can afford private tutors will still be much better off. There is also a major consequence of time. I agree with the article in saying, "that time spent in the narrow pursuit of beating the test meant time away from schoolwork and extracurricular activities that are actually designed to prepare students to succeed in college." There should not be one single exam, given on a single day that determines our fate for the future.
ReplyDeleteEleanor Hall
Period 3
Conor Duffy
ReplyDeletePeriod: 7
There are many different opinions about standardized testing. Me as the average student doesn't agree with it. I believe it’s unfair because every school has a different education. And some of the students may not be able to take the test because they can’t do it. But you can’t change the educational system of the state/country. The tests are needed to proceed to the school you want to go to. Colleges or any other school will look upon these scores to understand how students perform in tests. Each student in the student body has a chance to receive a good score. No matter what income the family has. There’s a chance for every student to get a good grade and an acceptance to the school of their choosing. Every year the SAT’s are changed to perfect the ‘perfect test’. A man named David Coleman, president of the College Board, takes it upon himself to fix these tests. There is no perfect test; but “still, Coleman concedes that the redesigned SAT won’t quiet everyone’s complaints, and he doesn't expect there to be a universal celebration of what they've done. You can imagine there will be substantial questions, for instance, about whether any standardized test can be fair across all groups…”All school systems don’t have the same educational level which is hard to design a fair test for all students to take.But overall, you have the ‘choice’ to take the test to see what position you’re in to perform wherever you go beyond high school.
Reading each of these articles, they are both persuasive in their own ways. The article “The Story Behind the SAT Overhaul” was much more informative and had a lot of facts and statistics while article #2 “Save Us From the SAT” is a personal, opinionated, and emotional article. Facts vs Personal. The one that I leaned towards ‘more persuasive’ was the article “Save Us From the SAT”. Although the other article was loaded with facts and visuals, it was a little too informative. It dragged on with fact after fact and the point really didn’t come across to me. The personal article was more convincing to rid of the SAT because it’s personal and relatable to students. Reading her story I felt like I was reading about me. Although I haven’t taken the SAT’s yet, I can already imagine the Saturday morning at 7 AM, and it isn’t going to be a pleasant one. I do not believe in standardized testing simply because everyone learns a different way. Schools express individuality but expect us to learn and apply all the same. I believe that getting rid of the SAT would reduce the amount of stress among students drastically. This article helped me realize that our SAT scores shouldn’t determine what college we get into. We’re basically trained 13 years of schooling preparing for this test and it can determine our future. Colleges base their application process on the SAT scores of applicants. In the article, Boylan argues that, “The SAT is a mind-numbing, stress-inducing ritual of torture. The College Board can change the test all it likes, but no single exam, given on a single day, should determine anyone’s fate.” I 100% agree with her because I believe colleges should look at our grades and examine how we have applied ourselves for the past 13 years in school. They should be based on one test we’ve prepared weeks for. It’s just not fair. Personal stories are always very convincing because they’re relatable. We can’t relate to a bunch of facts being thrown at us. Although the article “The Story Behind the SAT Overhaul” did convince me but not as much as the personal article. They made a point that the SAT has programmed us to memorize and not really learn. We aren’t learning all that vocabulary from that giant “Most Common Words Used on the SAT”. We are memorizing them. Balfs states that, ““When test day comes, they regurgitate what they’ve committed to memory, slightly reshaping depending on the question asked. But no one is actually learning anything about writing.” I agree, no one is really learning anything from these. I think getting rid of the SAT’s would do more good than bad, and a lot of students would appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteOverall, giving out the SAT to each individual student can be invalid and not very precise. I say this because everyone has their own way of learning in which they handle it much more differently than other students might take it. Most schools are leaning much different things at many different times and giving us this test is just a major thing that we need to be focused on, on top of all of the school work we already have. In the text it said, "The SAT is a mind-numbing, stress-inducing ritual of torture. The College Board can change the test all it likes, but no single exam, given on a single day, should determine anyone’s fate. The fact that we have been using this test to perform exactly this function for generations now is a national scandal." From this it kind of backed me up when I was talking about how much more pressure is put on us keeping us from focusing on the school work we have in class already.
ReplyDeleteMarissa G.
Period: 8
The SAT may have been intended to test the aptitude of an individual but it has become a difficult test that you must study for and determines a lot of your future. Due to the nature of the test, those with more money will always do better as they can hire tutors and afford special literature/guides. However, since the internet, there is more available sources for studying for these tests. The decision with the essay is bad in my opinion as it is what shows your creativity/writing, which is important in the world and a big part of who you are. SATs also affect the student's school career as it takes up much time and effort, "...that time spent in the narrow pursuit of beating the test meant time away from schoolwork and extracurricular activities that are actually designed to prepare students to succeed in college." The test needs more than just the essay part changed. A pressure-inducing test isn't healthy for a developing child, especially when it determines so much of their life at such a young age.
ReplyDeleteJared C. Period: 2
Reading both articles really confused me because when I was done reading, I had two different opinions on the SATS. I sympathize with Coleman, because I do believe that he is trying to create a test that will avail to everyone, but on the other hand, the second article reminds me that regardless, we're being forced to take a test containing irrelevant questions even though it practically determines our future. I can see that Coleman really believes in education, because the article states,” “Fitzsimmons told me he was stunned by what he saw, the ways in which the exam read like a direct response to his commission’s most serious recommendations.” Creating a test that is better adapt to predicting the capabilities of students, and also reflects on what students have actually learned in school, is Coleman’s goal. However, the second article definitely showed me a more personal aspect to the situation saying, “The thing is, though, there already is something that accurately mirrors the grades a student gets in school. Namely: the grades a student gets in school.” I think when given all the statistics and quotes from the College Board who glamorizes the new test because it’s so vastly improved from the current one, we forget that this is still a test given to teenagers that is expected to mirror their success over the past 12 years, in one day. Regardless of the more equal test prep opportunities they’re planning on giving to students, the more reasonable questions, and the better requirements for how the test is taken; it’s unnecessary and furthermore useless since data shows that good high school grades better reflect a positive academic experience in college, than a good SAT score. So the College Board can work all they want to better the SATS, but just like us they’re working for something unnecessary and useless; an A+ idea would be to just get rid of the SATS altogether.
ReplyDeleteCara B
period 3
Jonathan Bodner
ReplyDeleteP7
I feel that the articles aren't really that different from each other. The ideas behind both of the articles are the same ideas. The article "Save us from the SAT" was describing how one persons opinion opposed from another person. "I’d accidentally skipped a line on my answer sheet, early in that section of the test. Every answer I’d chosen, each of those lines of graphite-filled bubbles, was off by one. I looked at the clock. Time was running out.I’d accidentally skipped a line on my answer sheet, early in that section of the test. Every answer I’d chosen, each of those lines of graphite-filled bubbles, was off by one. I looked at the clock. Time was running out." This quote shows how some people get very agitated from that major test if they don't realize that they skipped a bubble and kept going. For anyone that would be frustrating. In the article "The story behind the SAT" it said, "Students despised the SAT not just because of the intense anxiety it caused — it was one of the biggest barriers to entry to the colleges they dreamed of attending — but also because they didn’t know what to expect from the exam and felt that it played clever tricks, asking the kinds of questions they rarely encountered in their high-school courses." This shows that many people are afraid of how their life will turn out if they do bad on one single test. When teens are anxious they forget that the SAT has tricks hidden within the test. This causes some people to panic and go right over the tricks. The SAT shouldn't be a problem if people stay calm and keep a clear thought process during the test.
I think that "Save us from the SAT" was more persuasive because it told a personal story. I found that it was easier to understand and relate to. The other article, although factual, was pretty dry. I also like "save us from that SAT" because it said,"no single exam, given on a single day, should determine anyone’s fate". That is something that I agree with strongly.
ReplyDeleteJulia Kendzierski period 8
I liked both of the articles in very different ways. "the Story Behind the SAT Overhaul" was very different than "Save Us From the SAT" Though I agreed with the second article most, because it really spoke to it's audience and sympathized with us without giving a lot of lee way onto the other side. But it was one sided wasn't very well rounded. The first article was very factual and lengthy. I have a problem with those articles because I tend to lose my focus if it keeps going on and on. I'm happy they're reforming the SAT to make it more factual, but I'm bummed that it's going to be a year after I graduate.
ReplyDeleteMaryColleen
period 2
Alla Miller period 2:
ReplyDeleteBy reading both these articles I got two different view points of the SAT. I think the Save Us From the SAT article was more persuasive, because it was an actual example of how this women felt taking the SAT, and really got you to think about how it was back then. And she also does not think we should take the SAT, because we have grades. I also agree why would we need to take this when we already work hard on our grades, shouldn't that be enough? in the article she says, "The thing is, though, there already is something that accurately mirrors the grades a student gets in school. Namely: the grades a student gets in school. A better way of revising the SAT, from what I can see, would be to do away with it once and for all." I agree with this and think she was more persuasive with her examples like her experience, and talked about her kids having to take the SAT. The SAT is such a pain to study for and we already have so much to focus on for school. It does not makes sense to have to take the SATs.
I believe that the article,"The Story Behind the SAT's" was more informative in terms of informing us about how the SAT's are formulates, but I can relate to "Save us From the SAT" more. I believe that the College Board, which distributes SAT's and AP exams do not measure intelligence or a students abilities. It only measure how a student can memorize information and in some cases guess the correct answer. To me, the College Board seems like a greedy, money making board that earns millions of dollars. "Today the company Kaplan founded and its main competitor, the Princeton Review, are joined by innumerable boutique firms (not to mention high-priced private tutors), all part of a $4.5-billion-a-year industry that caters largely to the worried wealthy in America who feel that the test can be gamed and that their children need to pay to learn the strategies." To me, its seems that the SAT's are catered to richer people who can afford expensive SAT prep classes and get help from tutors. The statistics show that students who come from a lower income family tend to have lower SAT scores, who can not afford the hundreds of dollars KAPLAN and college board offer. Another evidence that SAT's are not a good indicator of intelligence and knowledge is that, "Nacac report cited a University of California study, which characterized the SAT as a “relatively poor predictor of student performance” and questioned the tendency of colleges to rely on the SAT as “one of the most important admission tools. They reviewed 33 colleges and universities that did not require SAT or A.C.T. scores and found no significant difference in college G.P.A. or graduation rates between those who had submitted tests and those who had not." This strongly reinforces that there is little correlation between success in college and the SAT score of a student. In fact studies have shown that motivated students who performed well in high school with a high GPA were able to sustain and maintain their grades, even if their SAT scores were low. The author,Jennifer Finney Boylan, of the article, "Save Us from the SAT," "The SAT is a mind-numbing, stress-inducing ritual of torture." I completely agree with her because students are forced to take the test for 4 hours early in the morning. Teenagers, who are sleep deprived do not obtain the full capacity to logically think in this situation.
ReplyDeleteReitsuma Panta
English 11 Period 3
I think that the article (The Story Behind the SAT Overhaul), just talks about the SAT and it has helpful pieces in it about what we should include. I think the first one is more persuasive to me personally, because I like that it talks about the little things that would help you raise your score; or to get a better score. When Perelman was talking to the students he just flat out said, if you remembered or were to add a detail; it doesn't have to be accurate. And it should help you get an ok score; "He told them that details mattered but factual accuracy didn’t." And to add fancy words to get the readers attention. And with all of the information that is being said in the article is pretty persuasive, it's giving you hints that you don't have to flip out as much if you don't get a detail that is correct.
ReplyDeleteAnd this article not only has pointers but it also says that the SAT is actually designed to help students to prepare for college. So stated by Coleman, "He called it an opportunity cost, meaning that time spent in the narrow pursuit of beating the test meant time away from schoolwork and extracurricular activities that are actually designed to prepare students to succeed in college." I had always thought that it was to asses how good of a student we are; and that would be why colleges would want the scores to see how good we are academically. I think this article is the better of the two article given us to read.
Andrews Period 8
The SAT is an unnecessary stress to but on high school students. The test was originally designed to determine the level of intelligence of students headed to college, however the test has developed into an obstacle that students must overcome to be accepted into a good college. "It was assumed that there was no way to effectively prep for a test geared to inborn intelligence, but as early as 1938, Stanley Kaplan began offering classes that promised higher scores." The introduction of preparation for the SAT was a major flaw in the system. It allowed for unequal opportunities to develop between those who could afford the preparation and those who could not. “The SAT is a mind-numbing, stress-inducing ritual of torture.” The test no longer serves to determine a student intelligence, or his/her IQ. It has become a stressful preparation and regurgitation of information that has caused class inequality and student anxiety.
ReplyDeleteHannah Beatty pd.6
I completely agree with your post. The SAT was never, except in the first few years, a test of intelligence. As soon as there was a way to study, it became a division of economics and repeated memorization. Your last sentence sums up your idea's very well, "The test no longer serves to determine a student intelligence, or his/her IQ. It has become a stressful preparation and regurgitation of information that has caused class inequality and student anxiety."
Delete
ReplyDeleteBoth articles were persuasive in their own ways. “The Story Behind the SAT” holds more factual data, intended to favor the new SAT, while “Save Us From the SAT” talks of the writers experience, showing the problem with any SAT test. It is clear, even without looking at the type of article, what piece the papers were written for. Although the first article has a definite sway in favor of the new SAT, it presents more background information and limited opinion with no personal anecdotes. The second article is written as a persuasive piece, lacking evidence and holding more impact with the author’s experiences. I personally believe that the SAT’s should not continue. The SAT’s could never calculate the effort and hard work a student’s grades exhibit. “All in all, the changes are intended to make SAT scores more accurately mirror the grades a student gets in school. The thing is, though, there already is something that accurately mirrors the grades a student gets in school. Namely: the grades a student gets in school. A better way of revising the SAT, from what I can see, would be to do away with it once and for all.” (Save Us From the SAT)
The new SAT hopes to remedy the previous SAT’s problems, such as the correlation between high scores and high income. “it put students whose families had money at a distinct advantage, because their parents could afford expensive test-prep classes and tutors.” (The Story Behind the SAT) Although the new SAT is intended to create more just conditions, it is impossible to change the inevitable: people will capitalize on the new format. SAT tutors will still help wealthier students get higher grades. It may take a while for tutors and books to understand the new format, but students will eventually be using similar tricks for a different test. Also, certain schools will better prepare students for the SAT. The SAT and especially the new SAT, which tells “students that studying their course material in high school” is better than studying for the SAT” (The Story Behind the SAT), is not an accurate assessment of student work considering better schools (often more expensive ones) will produce more widely read students, only proving the advantage wealthier towns and schools holds over the test. The income and grades over score factors do not even begin to cover the stress many students feel toward the SAT. High-pressure time restraints make many people do badly, as mentioned in Jennifer Finney Boylan’s experience in her article “Save Us From the SAT”, in which the article ends with a girl sobbing after finishing the test. When my mom took the SAT she panicked during the math section, causing her to put B for every answer. This choice would cause her guidance counselor to tell her she had a “brain disorder”, an event that we latter laugh about. Although for many, panicking and not getting the perfect score on the SAT would deter their chances for a better life.
Caitie Perricone
Period 6
I think that both of these articles make solid points about the SATs. They are saying that the essays are not really a demonstration of our skills as students, and that we waste many of our resources trying to prepare for them. We spend our whole high school career being told to maintain the highest grades, yet when it comes down to colleges they weigh these SATs so heavily despite the fact that they define so little of our high school careers. And then the essay is a whole another story. Not only is it timed to not be able to hold really any large amount of meaningful content, but it also just makes us right b.s. stories t sound meaningful, and then when graded the graders really look for a few specific things that do not define us as writers. So in my opinion they should find a different ways to test our smarts, and show our progress throughout our 4 years, rather than a single test that requires us to study material that we never had included into our curriculum.
ReplyDeleteMike B. Per 3
I related well to "save us from the SAT" because it shared a personal story and I understood the article well. In my opinion, the SAT is too hard for many students and I'm happy that changes are going to be made to it, I am upset that it'll be after I graduate though. The essay should be optional because some people don't like writing or just aren't very good at it so they shouldn't have to be an amazing writer just to do well on the SAT. Also, the vocabulary used on the SAT is much too difficult, we should be tested on more common words just to make sure that we know the true meaning of them. I don't think the SAT shows how intelligent someone is because many students could do poorly on it but could have amazing grades in their actual classes.
ReplyDeleteAlyssa T, period 8
After reading the articles i was able to conclude that both articles are persuassive. The first article "The Story Behind the SATs" was more factual and supported the new sats, while the second article showed present issues with the standarized tests. I am glad that more light is coming to the SATs. These tests put a lot of stress on students and now that they are becoming easier and some sections, such as the writing, is optional it will put and ease to students minds. Its just dissapointing that this couldnt happen sooner so my grade would be able to take this test instead. The SATs now are very hard to prepare for, you have to memorize vocabulary that you will basically never use in your life again, and the math section is so hard, you want to give up and just skip the problem. Also i think that colleges are getting smarter by not paying as much attention to the SATs as they used to. It is becoming clearer to them that this one day test, at 8 am in the morning is not a good read of how a student really is. Some students have better gpas and dont test as well and some do the opposite. When sats where most important for colleges, smart students were overlooked because of their bad test scores. The sats becoming less of an importance and the new test will benefit students all over the country.
ReplyDeleteMichaela S
period 3
I think that standardized testing has both its up and downs, although more downsides. Both of these articles present good arguments, although the article titled 'Save us from the SAT' seemed more emotion based compared to the other one which was more factual and, I feel, more informative. In my opinion one of the only things the SAT is actually good for, is testing our ability to retain information, just as the second article says "it measures memorization, not intelligence", granted it does give us practice with problem solving and essay writing. But these are all things we could be tested on in a way that doesn't have such an influence in what college we get in to. This is one of the biggest problems with the SATs, there are many smart students who are very intelligent and have great potential that are just bad test takers. So you are possibly voiding some very smart people by requiring this test as such a big part of college acceptance. In my opinion, I think there should just be some changes made to the SAT in general, first of all make it so that you are not required to take it and send your scores to a college in order to be considered. Perhaps make it optional, and looked at as something that stands out about you if you do, much like having a high GPA does.
ReplyDeleteLeah B Period 6
These two articles express opinions similar to mine about the SAT. While the first article explains the history of the test and real data to draw its conclusions, the second article is strongly opinion based which I agree with in this situation. As someone who has taken the SAT, I agree that the time leading up to the test is very stressful, and to have us come in at 7:30 a.m. to take the test is a terrible decision made by the College Board. The fact that our future in education depends so strongly on a single test is absurd. For the test to be effective it should be changed up greatly. As the author of "Save Us From the SAT" put it "It measures memorization, not intelligence. It favors the rich, who can afford preparatory crash courses. It freaks students out so completely that they cannot even think." For colleges to base their admission off of this score is not right, and things need to be changed. What they are doing to the SAT is great, removing the nonsense vocabulary and the essay, but a new system altogether needs to be developed .
ReplyDeleteKevin C.
Period 3
Ok so i like all the other high school students out there in the United States don’t want to take the SAT’s. And it makes me very happy that the runners of the test have finally realized the problems with the test, even if the changes will happen after i have moved on from high school. And while i love learning about what they will change i will have to say that the articles couldn’t be more different. While the first is a well documented list of all the problems with the SAT’s and how they plan to fix it. The second is just a sob story on how horrible it is to take the SAT’s. And anyone who has sat through a SAT can tell you how horrible of an experience it was. Don’t get me wrong i like a good sob story as much as the next person but I like them to have a real ending. Where the main character actually learned something. But the author ends it, “When I finally got up to leave, I glanced down at her face. She was weeping.” What does that do for us. Nothing the main character didn’t go through a traumatic experience and come out better on the other side no she just watched another student cry and the presumably went home. The first article at least has a decent story (if you will). Yes it is tiring as all non-fiction is but it atleast make sure you know what you are reading. “They all were unhappy with the test, and they all had valid reasons.” How to fix the problem of the consumers discomfort.
ReplyDeleteSam H Period 6
Although it's fantastic that the SAT is finally changing, it's frustrating for us who will all be seniors next year because we will not be able to take advantage of the new version. Overall I've always thought that grades of students always reflect how they would perform in college. The SAT tests how successfully you can turn your brain into a computer that spews out strategies and methods to reach the correct answer. However I do understand that colleges need to find a way to narrow down their applicants. I think this can be done through other means such as reviewing a students essay, GPA, and activities. A quote from the first article, to me exemplifies the entire issue, "Students despised the SAT not just because of the intense anxiety it caused — it was one of the biggest barriers to entry to the colleges they dreamed of attending — but also because they didn’t know what to expect from the exam and felt that it played clever tricks, asking the kinds of questions they rarely encountered in their high-school courses." It doesn't make sense to test a student on a whole area of questions that they most likely have never seen in class before and will have to study completely separately. The first article seemed to me to be more persuasive because it provided a clear argument with a lot of evidence.
ReplyDeleteCassidy M. Period 6
The second article is much more critical to the SAT than the first one. In the second one Jennifer Finney Boylan includes her own opinion about the SAT; however the first one is much more informative about the SAT. Without stating much of an opinion the first one gives us more information on what is going to happen with the SAT’s. They are clearly not the same types of articles, and I thought they were both interesting in their own way. First of all the article about the SAT changing was important to me, because I might actually take the SAT’s in 2016. The second one is also interesting, because it questions if we actually need the SAT’s, and the fact that they are just a pain for pretty much every student makes this article easy to refer to for one that has already taken the PSAT’s or maybe the SAT’s for the first time, annoyed over all the stress and time that goes into this huge test.
ReplyDeleteChristian Frich
Period 6
After reading the two articles, I found that both provided clear and valid points about the SAT's. However, the first article "The Story Behind the SAT Overhaul" was more factual and supported the new format of the SAT's, while the second article, "Save Us From the SAT", showed present issues with the current test. In my opinion, I believe that the SAT's do not help show the intelligence of a student. In addition, the results can be inaccurate and unfair to those who were unable to attend classes for extra help in preparation for the test. The test also causes unnecessary stress on students and causes them to have to use a lot of time in-order to prepare for a test that doesn't show much information on the true intelligence of a student. In the article, "The Story Behind the SAT Overhaul", it says, "Students despised the SAT not just because of the intense anxiety it caused but also because they didn’t know what to expect from the exam and felt that it played clever tricks, asking the kinds of questions they rarely encountered in their high-school courses." This quote helps clearly explain the main problems of the SAT's and shows how pointless and unfair they truly are. I am happy to see that they are making changes to the test so that it is more fair and reasonable than the present day one. It will allow students to feel less hopeless and more confident when taking the new and improved standardized test.
ReplyDeleteHarjot Benipal P7
Both articles had very different perspective of the SAT. "Save us from the SAT" was more realisct from a teenages view. It got it's point across by having a light tone. "I daydreamed for a while, thinking about the architecture of braids. When I remembered that I was wasting precious time deep in the heart of the SAT, I swore quietly to myself." This is a realistic behavior of any teenage. I related to what the author was saying. I enjoyed the perspective of this article becasue I felt it got it's message across without being extremely boring. I even laughed because I could see myself doing something like that. "The Story Behind The SAT" took a different direction by sticking more to the facts. "When test day comes, they regurgitate what they’ve committed to memory, slightly reshaping depending on the question asked. But no one is actually learning anything about writing." I liked this part of the article becasue its true. The article talks about the people with more money are likey to do better because they can afford tutors and do SAT courses. So much of this commited memory begs the question of how much are we acually taking away from this. Are we really learning it or just doing watever gives us the higher score? I enjoyed reading both articles because they brought up my controversial topics.
ReplyDeleteRachel C
per 6
After reading each article I noticed differences and similarities between the two. "The Story behind the SAT" provided many clear statistics and broad points about the old and new SAT. "Save Us From The SAT" gave a very personal opinion about the test and used her own experiences to provide more of an emotional connection to the SAT. After taking the SAT last weekend I can see where the author of Save Us was coming from. She mentioned that she could feel her dreams of getting into her dream school were slowly slipping away as she bubbled in the papers. I had similar feelings while taking it and I became overwhelmed at the thought that this test that is designed for me to fail is controlling my future. Ive historically never been a great test taker so I agree with her when she says the SAT is not an accurate measure of a students abilities. The story Behind the SAT presented a lot of information about the new test that is being administered to students as of 2016. To me it seems that my age in particular catches no breaks and this is simply adding on to that.
ReplyDeleteElena M. Period 3
Ahmad Zaidi
ReplyDeletePeriod 6
In my opinion sat really should not play such a important role in acceptance for a college. Sat is a single exam with many problems and they should not be able to overshadow a student's hardworking for four years. In the second article “ The problems with the test are well known. It measures memorization, not intelligence. It favors the rich, who can afford preparatory crash courses.” This shows how many problems the tests have and yet it is still a major factor in a college's decision of a choosing a kid. In the first article it says “When they tracked where those kids applied to school, they found a number that would later shock Coleman. Fifty-six percent didn’t apply to a single selective college or university.” This shows how the one exam sat can even keep kids from going to good colleges even if their grades are good.
Each article gives two different perspectives of the SATs. "The Story Behind the SAT Overhaul" is more of an informative article while "Save Us From the SAT" is geared more along the lines of being opinionated. The author of the opinionated article, Jennifer Finney Boylan, talks about how the SATs are "a mind-numbing, stress-inducing ritual of torture", which I can somewhat agree with. She also states how the SATs are supposed to reflect a student's grades in school, therefore it should just be extinguished rather than improvised, and colleges should look more at students' personal grades. In my own opinion, I believe the SATs shouldn't be such a huge part of getting into college. I believe the test tries too hard to trick you and mess you up, and it does not accurately portray one's grades from school, which are more important. If one test is keeping a student from getting into a good school while they have good grades, it just isn't fair.
ReplyDeleteGabby White Period 3
As a victim of the current SAT's I am not thrilled with the changing of the tests. The first article was much more informative on what is too happen with the tests and how they will become more in line with the common core. David Coleman is very excited to have be able to change the SAT's because he thought that it was it liking buying scores. People would learn the tricks of the test by paying for help and then get high grades, while those who do can not afford to take classes or get tutors are forced to suffer. Coleman believes "this change means a lot for the work students do to prepare for the exam. No longer will it be good enough to focus on tricks and trying to eliminate answer choices. We are not interested in students just picking an answer, but justifying their answers.” This makes the SAT's a lot more fair to people all over the country. Sure some kids will take classes to learn how to respond a certain way, but if you can back your reasoning, you're pretty solid. This creates a more balance atmosphere about the test, in my opinion. The second article is a bit more biased and fun. Everyone can relate to be easily distracted and fully critiquing the person in front of you, it just happens. It will be a big leap though and though I still have to deal with the insane vocab and penalization of getting things wrong, I'm glad future students will not have to deal with these hardships.
ReplyDeleteAs a student who has felt the growing pressure of balancing school and grades, sports, extracurricular activities, and preparing for the SATs, I feel that both articles accurately portrayed my feelings and the feelings of the average student. While "Save Us From the SAT" was written in a much more casual manner, I felt that it conveyed the stress that one feels in the test very well. The pressure of your future weighing down your mind, the ominous ticking of the clock as you get slowly closer to the dreaded moment when the proctor calls time and you have to make your final decision as to guess and maybe get the point or leave it blank and ensure that you are not penalized for a wrong answer; it causes a sense of panic that only results in worse scores. "The Story Behind the SAT" was very informative and overall the better article in my opinion. It provided the cold hard facts about the SAT, and how the organizers of the test plan to fix it. The most striking piece of information from the article was the picture located a little less than halfway through the article. This picture depicted the correlation between income of a family and the resulting average SAT score, and the results astounded me. As the level of annual income increased, so did the average score. This fact is astonishing. Some of the most brilliant minds in history have come out of poor, low class families; what if these minds had never been discovered simply because they could not afford an SAT prep class and therefore were denied from an institution of higher education? Many of these minds did not attend college or university at all, something that would be unheard of today. As seen in a popular internet message, "What if the cure for cancer is stuck in the head of someone who can't afford an education?" This problem is being addressed in the new SAT, which is obviously a very good thing. The College Board is teaming with Khan Academy, an online education company that provides free help to students, which should help preparation for the SAT for all. In short, I believe that these changes to the SAT are long overdue and are a very good thing. Because the SAT matters so much, it is vital that it accurately reports the ability of all who take it and show colleges what the student actually can accomplish.
ReplyDeleteBoth articles regarding the new and upincoming changes to the SAT were informative in different ways, but I believe the article titled, "Save Us From the SAT," is by far more connectable to students in the high school grade levels. Its extremely connectable to teens since most of them have already experienced what seems like the most elongated morning of their lives in the dull SAT classroom. I felt like the woman understood what it was like and didn't try to hide the faults in the system. Although, my favorite part by far was when she mentioned her encounter with the bubbling issue, "This was the moment I saw the terrible thing I had done, the SAT equivalent of the Hindenburg disaster. I’d accidentally skipped a line on my answer sheet, early in that section of the test. Every answer I’d chosen, each of those lines of graphite-filled bubbles, was off by one." Its sad to say that somehow no matter the amount of concentration and determination to remain focus, I have a bubbling issue with every test I take so I found this so be very comedic. But not only was the, "Save Us From the SAT," article humorous, it was also informative and still provided information of the revisions that are going to be made for the new test in 2016. In the second article, "The Story Behind the SAT Overhaul," the author definitely provided more background info regarding what sections of the test were being changed and why but I found it a lot less interesting to read. Although I did find some of the factual information he included to be interesting such as the comment about Perelman's students he coached in specific ways to use specific information to cheat the system. According to his findings, "Fifteen of his pupils scored higher than the 90th percentile on the essay when they retook the exam, he said." That's a remarkable rate of success rate, but it makes me agree with most people then that the test isn't really looking for the best writing but rather certain connections and the use of large words. I'm glad that the SAT board decided to make changes but I wish I had the opportunity to see them in effect, and try it out myself.
ReplyDeleteAlyssa Case
Period 3
Michael Caminear Period 6
ReplyDeleteThe SAT is one of those things that everyone just loves to hate. If you ask any High School student about it, it is inevitable that they will have something negative to say in regards to it. It is because of this negative connotation that the overall goal of the SAT is not successfully reached. The SAT's purpose is to supposedly be an entrance exam that prepares you for the challenging academics that may come your way in college. However, this is clearly not the case. The SAT is a stress-filled nightmare for all teenagers, and I am saying this with personal experience on the matter. It does nothing but haunt you until the day you take it and get your scores back. And once you get your scores back, you are either relieved, or burdened with more stress because you know that your mediocre score won't be enough for you to get into the college of your dreams.
In actuality, the main problem with the SAT is the fact that it is not cumulative; it is merely a measurement of how you did on one, single test early on a Saturday morning. This is bad because everything else you are sending off to college is a culmination of things you did over 4 years of hard work. This can range from grades, extracurricular activities, and all the way through community service. The fact that one Saturday morning can sabotage all those years of hard work is really disheartening. As it says in one of the articles, "...[success] is unlikely to be measured by a test involving bubble sheets." This reinforces the idea that the SAT is unsuccessful in its attempts to prepare students for college. The only real thing it does is induce fear and anxiety among high school teens all throughout the country.
That being said, some changes need to be made, and one of the articles goes into great detail as to how this can be done. The reduction in the amount of "confusion" and the optional essay portion is a good start, but we don't know if it will have a significant impact on the way people view the SAT altogether. Only time will be able to tell. The president of the College Board even goes on to say, "...he doesn’t expect there to be a universal celebration of what they’ve done." Meaning, not huge things are expected to come from these changes that are approaching future generations of teens. It is understood that gradual steps toward a better SAT are the best way to handle this predicament.
In total, the SAT is a necessary evil that levels the playing field for colleges to see what student is best for their school. Therefore, adjustments need to continue to be made to the test because, as of now, it is not popular among teens and only brings forth anguish and frustration for teens.
I am very glad to see changes to the SAT, as it is a very flawed test that carries a lot of weight. The problem with it is that the material on it will never be used in the future. The english section contains words that many have never seen used in any book, the essay asks a broad question no college student or worker will ever have to evaluate, and the math contains just simple geometry. Hopefully by changing this test to us material that is important for a college student and worker in the workforce, it will improve scores and better evaluate whether a student is eady for college, like it is supposed to.
ReplyDeleteEvan Seward P2
SAT is a standardized test where every student in high school freaks out about. This is probably because the test scores decide the factor for the college admission officers for admitting new students into their school or not. Every student strives to get a high score and many students take private tutors or even go to SAT courses in schools. This obviously cost money and it comes out of the students’ parent’s pockets. From what I heard, tutors and classes take up more than $100. People pay so much money to get a higher SAT score to get into good colleges. But the thing is, the score of the SAT tests are not accurate prediction of how well one would do in college. Also the SAT test isn’t to show how intelligent someone is. One can have the perfect GPA and get a 1500 on their SATs. Does this make sense? Yes, because some people aren’t good with taking standardized tests. The test that is held to be changed in 2016 wouldn’t be any different because it’ll still count toward the acceptance to a good college. With the new SATs, you’ll need to study for SATs and get a high GPA. Though the new SATs are told to be easier with lower SAT score expectations, SATs will forever be waste and time, money, and stress.
ReplyDeleteVicky Seok Period 6
Both articles made good points, but I found "The Story Behind the SAT Overhaul" more persuasive because it used more facts, not only personal experiences, although that made the other one easier to relate to. I think it is good that the SAT is being changed. The current SAT tests memorization of vocabulary, and as Perelman said in "The Story Behind the SAT Overhaul," "He encouraged them to sprinkle in little-used but fancy words like “plethora” or “myriad” and to use two or three preselected quotes from prominent figures like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, regardless of whether they were relevant to the question asked." The worst part about this is that it actually worked for his students. The current test relies solely on memorizing vocabulary and quotes, not measuring a student's true intelligence and potential. A test that is this inaccurate shouldn't be such a large factor in the college admissions process. I agree that the tests need a change to measure intelligence more accurately, but I don't know if any test will be able to do that more than performance in high school. I agree with the author of "Save Us From the SAT:" "A better way of revising the SAT, from what I can see, would be to do away with it once and for all." if we can't measure a student's potential, why continue to use a test that doesn't work? It doesn't make sense. The SAT should be done away with, but since that isn't going to happen anytime soon, it is good that it is being edited to be slightly more accurate. Jessica L. Period 6
ReplyDeleteThe stats is a crucial test for juniors because this test decides what college you will get into. I don't find that fair because you can have the most outstanding grades and still get into a non descent college. i feel that the sats shouldn't decide what college you'll go to in the future, or decide how intellegent you are. " students despised the SAt not just because of the intense anxiety it caused, it was one of the biggest barrires to entry to the colleges they dreamed of attending, but also because they didn't know what to expect from the exam and felt that it played clever tricks, asking the kinds of questions they rarely encountered in their high school courses and students were docked one quarter point for every multiple choice qusteion they got wrong"
ReplyDeleteI am very pleased to see that changes made to the SAT. Overall, the SAT is a flawed exam that places too much emphasizes on the performance of a student in one day rather than the effort one puts in over the 4 years of high school. As a student who works very hard on a day to day basis, I find it troubling that one test can affect my ability to get into college more than my consistent, daily performance in school. I think the changes to the test, like not penalizing for guessing and putting less focus on root memorization of things like vocabulary, makes the SAT a more fair and accurate example of a student's ability.
ReplyDeleteSkylar S.
Period 2
I'm glad the SAT is diversifying itself and making the test easier to take by all students nationwide. Every student should have an equal opportunity to achieve higher education to further themselves with higher paying careers or to follow their dream. The SAT was very flawed, asking questions that those less fortunate cannot answer due to school systems that are flawed as well.I also believe that one test should not affect my chances of going to college rather than, like others have said, my performance in school. I seem to have heavily relied on studying for the SAT instead of focusing on my actual grades in school.
ReplyDeleteTyler M.
Period 7
The SAT doesn't show someones intelligence, it just shows how well someone can take a test. I like the new changes a lot because I think that the SAT's put so much stress on someone to do good that they end up doing worse than they intended.
ReplyDeleteTaylor Miller
Period 7
Pat Cunningham
ReplyDeletePeriod 7
I believe that the SAT does not show your true learning abilities because you could be awful at standardized tests but you could be a straight a student in the classroom. Also you hear about how much the SAT is stressful to people who are trying to take it, and in some cases they study a lot for the SAT and do not get all of there regular school work done for that next school day, which will hurt them in the long run. So i believe that we shouldn't have to take the SAT because it doesn't show your true capacity of the material that you learned over the years.
Im not against the SAT because like it say in the article, "The only way to measure students potential is to look at the complex portrait of their lives:What there schools are like; how they've done in their courses' what they've chosen to study;what progress they've made aver the time; how they've reacted to adversity" So in my opinion i think that SAT does help collages and other schools to know the potential of students and how smart they are so that way they also know what is better for them. If someone who is not that smart goes to a collage that is hard and maybe that persons is only going to waste his/her time and money as well. Know the potential/intelligence of students is important to his/her future.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the quote on the other article that said "When is there a situation either collage or life when your're asked to write on demand about something you've never once thought about?' I think that the SAT help students as well to learn has to deal with big things like how to write an essay for collage or for something important in life. So the SAT is necessary.
Marjuri Rodriguez
Period:7
After reading these articles on the SAT, I'm glad they are revising it. The SAT is now being changed to an optional essay, and the questions are going to be based more of the common core curriculum. However, the college board and creators of the SAT know it has flaws, and yet they are not changing it sooner. This bothers me. Until 2016, all students will be taking the old version of the SAT. I find this unfair because they should change it now. Also, I believe that more colleges and universities should not base their acceptance of students based off the SAT scores. The SAT is just one exam. You cannot learn about one person and his/her accomplishments and characteristics based off of a standarized test. "Students are just cramming a bunch of vocabulary words for one exam" stated in the first article. Once they take the exam and get the grade, they forget the information. The SAT shouldn't count as a major part of being accepted into college, and I am glad they're changing it.
ReplyDeleteAmy B
per 8
After reading both the articles, I'm more than happy that they are changing the SATs. ON the other hand, I'm not to keen that it is changing after I have graduated. The SATs are a stressful test. Some colleges have SAT and ACT optional, but a majorty of schools still require them. "The only way to measure students potential is to look at the complex portrait of their lives:What there schools are like; how they've done in their courses' what they've chosen to study;what progress they've made aver the time; how they've reacted to adversity" I strongly agree with his quote because you can't tell how someone will be on your campus by the test scores. Another problem with the SATs today is that classes cost more than $100. That is pretty costly for a test that shouldn't determine your future. I am happy the SATs are changing, but I wish it was now instead of two years.
ReplyDeleteTeagan M.
Period 6
After reading both articles, I am satisified with the changes that are being made to the sat's. But I wanna know why is it now that they decide to make these changes? Until the changes are actually made, people still have to take this test to make it into college. Sat scores should not be based on whether someone gets into college or not and it shouldn't be a consequence if a person doesn't get a good score. Just because someone doesn't get a good score on the sat's doesn't mean the person isn't responsible, intelligent, confident, or dedicated.
ReplyDeleteTatiana H
per 8
I share the opinions of many others when I say that I am glad the college board has decided to revise the SAT. The changes that are going to be made are, in my opinion, necessary ones that improve the test by making it a test to a students' abilities instead of a test that measures how much a student has studied test patterns and "tricks". The article "The Story Behind the SAT Overhaul" emphasizes the ways the test has been taught to students over the years, proving it ineffective in testing aptitude because the skills it tests aren't applicable to real life. The article "Save Us From the SAT" shows more a personal perspective to the test, and the author highlights the stress and circumstantial variables that the testing environment can't take into account. The "Save Us From the SAT" article was the most persuasive of the two because it incorporated the authors' personal accounts and experiences with the SAT in her youth and that made the article a lot more easier to relate to and kept me interested in what she was saying.
ReplyDeleteJustin Campos
Period 3
Both of the articles were interesting, though one was more opinionated the other was more informative and logical. It was beneficial for me to read the more informative and number oriented article before the personal account. Something that I found disturbing was the positive correlation between income and SAT score. Even the president of the College Board, David Coleman, acknowledges that the SAT is measuring test preparation not inborn intelligence. "Unequal test-prep access is a problem" The programs that are being set up support those who have the drive to do well on the SAT but do not have the resources, however I am not sure that they are the ones in need of help. Hopefully their self motivation will ensure them a job later in life, but it is the students with no family or community support system that need the push for SAT prep.
ReplyDeleteWhile the author of the second article was slightly melodramatic at times, "The SAT is a mind-numbing, stress-inducing ritual of torture" (I mean no test is fun, but half the battle is in your mind) she had some really interesting points about the measurement of a students potential, which is the main point of any aptitude test. No one likes to dive head first into an unknown territory, especially when that territory could be pivotal to the rest of your life. But as the author states plainly "...no such measurements exist." This article put things into perspective, showing that our growth as students is impossible to calculate, you can only guess. To me, that is what the SAT is, just an educated guess. So I don't really mind the changes that are being made to the SAT because as long as students and other people of the world rationalize what the SAT is, it is a much less daunting task. Because guesses are often wrong, even though as a population we tend to be overconfident in our own assumptions.
Emma P per6
The SAT may have been intended to test the aptitude of a student but it has become a difficult test that you must study for and nearly determines your entire future. The SAT is not meant to include extremely challenging math problems or anything of that nature. Rather it is intended to try to trick the student to pick the most appealing answer choice. For example, in the writing section in sentence completion the creators of the test throw in all types of words that many students don't know the meaning of. The student is more likely to pick the word they don't know because they think it is the right answer. However, the majority of the time it is the opposite. I like the fact that they are trying to change the test so it is less deceiving to the test taker and I think the changes to the test, like not penalizing for guessing and putting less focus on memorization, makes the SAT a more fair test.
ReplyDeleteJake S.
Period 2
Overall, I dont view the SAT as a test. Rather, i view it as almost a game. There are numerous strategies and tricks to improving one's score. A test designed to test the aptitude of students should not be based on strategy, it should truly judge a students intelligence. I appreciate the fact that they are trying to remove the tricks of the test. When i took mine, i regularly found myself trying to take the test from the perspective of te creators. "Hmm, how would i try to mess somebody up." Also, the penalty for guessing did not discourage me to guess, rather it made me more unsure of the answers i knew. The revisions being made to the test can only help.
ReplyDeleteJared P Period 3
I believe the first article was more persuasive because it used logic to show the reader how the SAT essay and other parts are irrelevant and unnecessary. The article stated how people that retook the essay used quotes and facts that may not relate to the topic or be completely accurate. This demonstrates how this part of the test isn't great on testing ones writing ability. A teenager shouldn't be writing an essay on a topic they have never seen before. I believe with these changes the test will test the persons intelligence and not their ability to take tests and strategize. The second article was somewhat persuasive by displaying that the exam was simply stressful overall. It demonstrated how a single test shouldn't determine some of a students future.
ReplyDeleteJoe R
P2
Between the two articles, the story behind the SAT is much more informative and serious while the Save Us from the SAT is a bit more fun and light hearted but still gets its point across. Both demonstrate the need for change in the SAT because of the absolute absurdity of how difficult and pointless most of the questions are. The writing section for example is too much too much. You are asked to write about a topic you have never once seen before and are judged on your knowledge of that topic. " "But “when is there a situation in either college or life when you’re asked to write on demand about something you’ve never once thought about?” The author fully agrees with this point which is why the essay portion is becoming optional. Next comes the impossible vocabulary word section. Never once will you use these pointlessly complicated words?! As the second author states "The SAT is a mind-numbing, stress-inducing ritual of torture." Also the factual essay talks about how the SAT is getting better grades by those who have a higher income. This is simply not fair to everyone but it is how the world is.The first article also talks about emotion and the second the story behind the SAT provides a more intelligent response with factual information onto the subject making it better.
ReplyDeleteSonny G. pr 6
Dan L
ReplyDeletePeriod 2
"The Story Behind the SAT Overhaul" is a better crafted article than "Save Us From the SAT" because the author, Todd Balf, provides more in depth factual evidence for the argument against the SAT.
Although "Save Us From the SAT" is more entertaining and less complex than Balf's article, Jennifer F. Boylan offers no objective tone and is too personal in its nature to be without bias.
I value Boylan's story, but I'd say there is an unfortunate truth to the colorful words of Mr. Coleman when he claims, "'People really don’t give a [expletive] about what you feel or what you think.'”
As much as Boylan is able to captivate her audience with a personal story to support her opinion, there simply isn't enough depth to her evidence to persuade someone who hasn't had the same negative experience as her that the SATs are as broken as she claims they are.
Ultimately Balf presents a broader range of knowledge; successfully addressing the problems of the SAT in an analytical, fact-based manner.
The Sat is used to test the intelligence of high school students all over the U.S. The scores are sent to colleges which can either determine whether or not you get into college. Now a days SAT scores are something you should send in but College admissions don't look at them in great detail as much as they use to. The SAT is coming to be obsolete, or at least significantly changed by 2016. which isn't fair for kids graduating for the next two years. The SAT brings great anxiety to High school students, and costs a substantial amount of money. SAT prep courses are very expensive and the SAT itself costs anywhere from 75-100 dollars. so we spend all of this money and get all this stress from a test that really isn't that serious about getting you into college. And now the test will be changed? i will still have to get up at 6 on a Saturday morning and take 4 hour test that just tries to confuse you, and really has no significance to my life. i just find it unfair.
ReplyDeleteO'Donell
Period2
I loathe tests with the very core of my being. That being said, I believe that the entire concept behind SAT's is utterly ridiculous. Preforming well on tests does not reflect one's potential or ability to learn. Like most tests, the SAT is simply a way of testing how well a student can memorize and regurgitate material. I know countless people who get straight A's on test but never truly learn the concepts. They have a system of memorizing the information, acing the test, and then forgetting everything the next day. "The only way to measure a student's potential is to look at the complex portrait of their lives" not by looking at their testing ability. I think that the best way to improve the SAT's is to simply do away with them.
ReplyDeleteWest
Period 2
In my opinion, the new SAT overhaul is a good things. Nowadays, the SAT doesnt test pure intelligence. Instead,it tests the students ability to memorize vocab, formulas and tips and tricks on test taking. With this new SAT, i feel like it will cater more towards testing the intelligence of the student. Also, it seems to be an easier process, and that is always a plus.
ReplyDeleteAidan D
Per 6
I think that the new SAT overhaul is a good thing. This test tests the students on how well they take tests instead of their intelligence level. Some people are not good at testing but they are really good in school and have really good grades. "They saw that students with good high-school grades did well in college, even if they had weak SAT scores. But students with weaker high-school grades — even with strong SAT's — did less well in college" (Todd Balf). This can also give people a lot if stress and anxiety. Studying and studying takes up a lot of time and people that are really into their grades don't have time to study for another thing. It would be good to have a test focusing on intelligence more then how your test taking skills are.
ReplyDeleteChaylea Finn
period 2
In my opinion, the SAT's are not a good measure of intelligence. I know many people that have great grades in school but did very bad on the SAT's and visa versa. "they saw that students with good high-school grades did well in college, even if they had weak SAT scores. But students with weaker high-school grades even with strong SATs did less well in college." This quotes right here shows why the SAT's don't prove anything about ones intelligence. The SAT's doesn't test how intelligent you are but how well you can take a test, which is why I think that the changing of the SAT's is a good thing, hopefully now the test will test one on their intelligence and not on their test taking skills.
ReplyDeleteAodhan
Period 6