Since we have been talking about ability grouping and tracking, I just happened to think of the SAT. Should we place such an emphasis on the SAT scores to get into college? Should we expect high achievers to have high SAT scores all the time? Should the reverse be true?

Case in point:
Peer of mine passed US History with only a D, but scored 1500 on the SAT.

No, I do not think we should place so much emphasis on the SAT or ACT. Granted I never took the SAT because in TN all of the schools tell you to take the ACT, but they are practically the same. I do not think it is fair because of your type of example. People who have no motivation, self discipline, and just flat out don't want to learn would not do very well in a college setting at all. However, if they do make a 28 or a 29 on the ACT not only are they able to get into most colleges they are placed into the running for scholarships. Now take a person who has worked all of their life studying to make good grades. This person might not be the smartest in his/her class, or is a good test taker, but is willingly to put the work in to get good grades. They take the ACT do poorly and thus are placed into a community college before going on. When in the end if the poor testing students went to college they would probably end up making better grades then the first student. Its hard to say though how to test all students and put them into the same category. I think that is the reason there are still so much emphasis on tests, because no one knows of a better alternative so far.

I definitely agree with the above post! My question is what do these tests measure and who comes up with these tests? Personally, I graduated high school with close to a 4.0 GPA, worked my butt off for those grades, but then when it came to the SAT, it took me four different tries to make atleast an 1100. My point exactly, is that not everyone is made to take tests. I finally paid a tutor to help me with raising my SAT scores. I found it ironic that this teacher basically ran a business for students like myself. She had basically learned the tests (NOT the material) but the tricks and how to play the "game" of taking the test! I am thankful that ASU and other colleges did not base my acceptance souly on my SAT scores. I just really have a hard time with having one student who comes to class everyday and bustes their butt to achieve, but then does not take tests well, so therefore is put in a lower tracking group, and then having a student who hardly ever attends class but shows up for the tests, and makes high on the tests and they are put in a higher tracking group!

My thoughts exactly!! I more than agree with these posts. I think it is absolutly ridiculous how much emphasis is placed on testing and the SAT. I am a person who like Katie, graduated high school with close to a 4.0 and I too worked very hard for those grades. School did not come without work for me as it did for some people I knew. When it came time to take the SAT I did horribly. I am not a good standarized test taker and never have been. If colleges would have looked solely at this score there is no way I would have ever gotten into college--luckily they did not because here I am! I believe that these test are not made for everyone and it is a poor assessment of learning. I mean what is education coming to--we punish children who work their butts off but simply dont do well on these tests. Its just not fair. I agree with Darcy in that there is just no other alternative right yet but I will be so glad when they find one. Another thing is that so much strain is put on teachers to prepare kids for these type of tests that they can't even teach and have fun with the children because they have standards to meet before the end of the year. We are also taking away more and more classes that someone deems "unimportant" like recess, arts and vocational classes because there is just no time!! This is crazy and these subjects are just as important in shaping our children as anything else. I think its time we do something about this...and make ourselves heard.

I think that what everyone has said is correct. My goal was to make over a 1000 on the SAT. I did, but not by much. I had the grades and the class placement to get me into college though. I agree with you Ryan...I have never done well on any standard tests, and I think that something needs to be done. I am not sure what or how to easy the tensions. I remember taking the writing test in the 4th grade...how do they expect a 4th grader to write an essay...when you learn your alphabet and how to read the easy books, and in four years the state wants you to write an essay??? That's crazy~

I agree with everyone. There should not be so much emphasis placed on the SAT or even the Praxis. I was like Hannah. My goal was to score over a 1000. I only scored a 1020 but I had the grades and the all of the extra stuff to get into college. Standardized testing stresses me out. It took me 5 times to pass the Reading part of the Praxis. It made me feel like I couldn't read and that I wasn't going to be a good teacher because I couldn't score that 176 you had to have. When it comes to us teaching upper elementary school, we need to remember how we used to feel when it came to those tests. Maybe if we tell are students about how we were when we took these tests, they won't be so stressed out anymore and will do better on the tests.

I don't believe that a huge emphasis should be placed on SAT scores. I didn't do so well on the SAT but I did very well in school. In my opinion it doesn't measure one's true capabilities. Anyone could be lucky and guess correctly.

I agree with the above posts that I don't think schools should place as much emphasis on the SAT. I also had close to 4.0 in high school and my weighted GPA was over a 4.0 but I did horrible on the SAT. Now at App my grades are good so I don't think that the SAT shows them what they need to know.

The SAT was no problem because I have always tested well. In addition to that, I had a 3.9 in school, so not bad. However, I think schools and thus most Americas put too much emphasis on testing. More importantly is what we know how to do and the application of things, not can we reply to rote memoriztion such as most standardize tests require.

I forgot to sign in!
There is so much emphasis on the SAT's in high school; preparation, study, score...we are made to feel that the SAT's are the end all and be all of your college career.
However, I feel that it is up to the College or University as to how much the emphasis they place on theses scores. Many schools have their own criteria and the SAT's or only one small portion.
Students should not feel that they are unworthy to attend certain Colleges or Universities. It is unfortunate that unfair judgment my be place about a student, but that is the fault of the school, not the student.

No way does a standardized test like the SAT show the true capabilities of a person. If we only use it to judge one aspect of the person, how they do on tests, then it might be fine to use. We just need to make sure that groups using SAT scores to judge people have access to much more information about the persons so that a coherent representation of the person as a total is achieved.

I think that less and less emphasis is being put on SAT scores to get into college, and I think that this is only fair. To me the SAT always seemed like a mind game because of the points awarded or taken away for answering wrong, correct, or leaving a question blank. I can understand why it is necessary to have tests like the SAT, so that everyone in the nation can take a similar test based on the same standards. I do not beleive, however, that a high school senior who made mediocre grades and a 1500 on the SAT should have a better chance of getting into college than one who makes above average grades and a 1100. The SAT is one day to show your "smarts" while grades show years of them.

I think that there is too much emphasis placed on the SAT scores. There are several intelligent people who have been denied access to colleges because of their SAT score. The SAT is a standardized test and many people are simply not good at those sort of tests.

I bellieve that the SAT is probably the worst way to test students for their academic ability. I am personally horrible at testing and do not typically do well. I only made a 1090 on the SAT's but yet I am fully capable of doing very well in class. Last semester I made a 3.6 GPA. I wish that we could do away with these tests but like I brought up in class one time. We can complain about the SAT but what else would we do to test our students? I do not believe that just showing your grades to colleges is the best way because I believe that there are many school systems that are harder than others and even in individual schools, depending on the professors that you get depends on the grades that you recieve. Say you and your best friend are trying to get into the same college and at that time are taking the same classes with just different professors and she comes out wiht a professor that doenst have tests and you get one that believes that no one deserves an A. How would you feel if you bustsed your butt in that class, made lower grades but yet your friend who didnt do anything got better grades and got to go to the college you both wanted and you didnt? HOW SHOULD WE TESTS STUDENTS?