SAT/ACT: Who benefits?

SAT/ACT, no explanation is needed. Say these letters to any high school age students and watch the color disappear from their faces. Over the years, the significance of these tests has increased faster than the cost of college tuition. The real question is: Why?

With the recent passing of Stan Kaplan, the father of test tutoring, a lot of press has been written about the SAT and value of test preparation in general, with many feeling it preys on student's fears more than actually helping. Some assert that the test is biased against minority students who are not in a position to avail themselves to the same test preparation services as non-minority students. Responding to this criticism, some colleges have dropped these tests, fostering a new round of criticism. Are colleges doing this altruistically or is there some other reason for their actions? For example, not having to report that their applicants have lower scores than that of the students applying to a competitors school.

Having witnessed first hand the stress of these tests on students (and the parents who live with them,) it seems the answer to this problem is simple: Have colleges and universities administer their own test -a test that can neither be prepped for or studied for since the content would be unknown. (I hope Stan is not rolling over.) Besides leveling the playing field for all students, the stress surrounding this test would be significantly less since each school test would represent a new chance for a student to do well. But this will never happen for one reason -it would require too much work on the part of colleges and universities. With the number of students applying to colleges these days, colleges have no incentive to rock the boat. What could be easier than having a test that every applicant has to take? Colleges don't have to figure out if a student's high school grades are inflated or if the course work offered at their school is comparable that of another school. So how can we move towards a less stressful college application experience? Demand to be viewed as a person not a grade.

Hey Harvard, if your listening, stop the SAT/ACT madness. Thousands of kids (and their parents) will thank you. Sorry Stan.