What is the difference between effect or affect? One letter, right? Somehow this question matters your junior or senior year of high school because it will appear in the grammar section of the SAT, a standardized test that is required for most colleges which tests reading, writing and math skills.

The SAT was first used in 1962 as an IQ test for US Army recruits. It is still being used today, but for college recruits instead of Army recruits and it makes no sense. The SAT is testing how well you can take a test. This standardized test stands in the way of the futures of students and their post-high-school education.

On March 1, 2020 the average SAT score was reported to be a 1059, which would not get a student into large state schools, such as Penn State or Ohio State. In real life though who cares how well you can read a passage and then answer 10 multiple choice questions on it. No employer is going to ask, “What did you get on your SAT?” Yet, this one test seems to stand in the way of students who want to earn degrees for future careers, even though any employer will not care.

Many people relate higher scores to intelligence, but that is not necessarily the case. There is a 25% chance you get every multiple choice question right. The way the SAT calculates scores by correct answers only, there is no penalty for guessing and getting a question wrong.

The SAT just feels like another cash builder for colleges and institutions. You can take this test as many times as you would like in order to get a score you feel is proficient, allowing you to apply to colleges and further your education. You also must pay to send your scores to colleges, just more money given away. Not to mention you can ask the SAT scorers to re-score your test if you think they made an error.

This test could be easily taken off college admissions and no one would complain about it. I mean colleges seemed to be pretty quick to decide the class of 2021 doesn’t need these for college admissions because of the pandemic. Why should other classes need them?

Some of the top colleges such as Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard and Princeton have become test optional for the class of 2021. That goes to show if some of the top college programs are waiving test scores for their programs for one year, then they cannot be that much of a factor for deciding who is admitted and who is not.

To go even further Princeton and Dartmouth are not only waiving scores for the seniors this year, but are moving into being test optional for grades after 2021. Two of the top colleges in the country are becoming test optional! These scores do not define a student and many colleges are beginning to see that.

Colleges basing acceptance of students on how well they do on a four hour test is ridiculous and should be taken out of the admissions requirements.