myUsearch blog

Today we have a guest post from Sarah Scrafford who regularly writes on the topic of college admissions and online universities for a number of blogs:

These is college entrance exam time for colleges and this has brought an intense debate over the effectiveness (or rather, lack of it) of the SAT and the ACT as a valid measuring stick for college admissions. The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) report released last month has caused some confusion — questioning the credibility of these tests. 

The SATs were introduced as a way to allow all high school graduates, irrespective of race, culture and status, an equal opportunity of gaining admission to any of the educational institutions across the USA. However, after a considerable amount of research, the NACAC commission has found that wealthy students are at an advantage because of the extra coaching and training they can afford.

And so the Asian and white students dominate these tests and gain admission into the nation’s prestigious universities while the African Americans, Latinos and Hispanics are left far behind. This situation, if allowed to continue, will only increase the disparity between the haves and the have-nots. It’s ironic when you consider that education is the only bridge that can close the gap between the two. When the have-nots are at a disadvantage even before they’ve gained admission, how on earth can they even attempt to catch up to those who have both the money and the education?

While the NACAC suggests using student grades in pre-college courses in high schools as an alternative to the SAT and ACT, there’s another option - one that is designed to be more uniform than the SAT and ACT in determining aptitude levels in youngsters. The brainchild of Yale University psychologist Robert Sternberg, The Rainbow Project attempts to evaluate creativity and problem-solving skills rather than testing grammar and math formulae. Potential applicants would be asked to come up with stories and provide innovative titles for them or write creative captions for pictures and cartoons – skills that cannot be taught and must come from within.

Research shows that this test is a more accurate indicator of GPA than SAT or ACT scores and that it offers no advantage to wealthier students from advantaged backgrounds. While it’s true that only 800 students were tested initially, this is one test that does hold a lot of promise for the future.

What do you think? Does this test have a chance? Should colleges eliminate the SAT and ACT? Should colleges just use the high school GPA? Please weigh in! 

This article is contributed by Sarah Scrafford, who regularly writes on the subject of college admissions and top rated online universities. She invites your questions, comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address: [email protected].

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