Arguments Against Standardized Testing Essay

Over recent years, the debate of whether or not to continue using standardized testing to evaluate college applicants has been somewhat controversial. Although college may not necessarily ensure success in the future, is not the only path in which success can be found, and is not a good path for every student, a majority of students that graduate high school want to go to college and need to know what it is they need to accomplish before their four years are up. Some of the colleges shifting to the idea of accepting applicants not based on test scores think that the potential to do well in college shouldn’t be based on these things. These argue that personal traits and characteristics are what determine success. Traits like these aren’t truly measurable though. A student's character should be a factor in their acceptance to college, but this must be supplemented with grades and standardized tests scores.

What some may oversee is that grades and scores can give insight to certain characteristics, such as work ethic. Those who work hard in school are generally the ones that receive good grades. Also, a student’s will to improve themselves is very important. For example, if there is a trend for one’s grades improving over the four years of high school, this is a sure sign of a promising future. One year or class shouldn’t determine someone’s acceptance into college. Some may argue if grades are a good measure of both intelligence and devotion to school, why are standardized tests necessary? Each school is different, so just evaluating a student based on grades leaves far too much room for variations. With different teachers and class sizes, there is really no baseline to compare one student’s academic excellence to