SAT Subject Tests What are SAT Subject Tests? The SAT Subject tests are specific content based tests which allow students to exhibit their areas of academic strengths. Not only as a student you get to show your achievements, but by taking a SAT subject test you will also give a very strong message about your academic background and future course of subject selections. There are many colleges that differentiate students in placing them for appropriate courses by evaluating the results of the SAT subject tests. In fact as students, for introductory level courses you may also be fortunate to receive credit in some of the colleges. How are they different from SAT test? • For the process of acceptance to any college both SAT and SAT subject tests may have vital roles to play. For assessing the capabilities of students in university success in general the SAT tests are important. On the other hand the SAT subject tests assess skills …show more content…
They expect you to formulate answers and analyze questions in a very short period of time. So you must be very well versed with the topics you choose for your SAT subject tests. Which SAT Subject Tests should I take? Please be sure to find out what interests you most and what is most suitable for your college studies. Only subjects that interest you and make you feel confident should be taken up to prepare for the SAT subject tests. They are very important in determining your future career path in college. Also do not forget to study about the colleges where you wish to apply. The colleges in which you are interested may have specific requirements of SAT subject test scores. To help you better, he is the link of College Search. In order to find out subjects preferred by various colleges for the entrance exam the above link will be helpful. How many months are needed for preparation of the
In “A History Of The SAT In 4 Questions”, Cory Turner and Eric Westervelt write about the SAT and how it is changing. The authors discuss the new version of the SAT and how the College Board is going to change things. The Board “hopes the redesign will provide a more accurate measure of a student’s college and career readiness.” (Turner and Westervelt, A History Of The SAT). For example, Cyndie Schmeiser, the chief of assessment of the College Board, says that the new test “will include vocabulary, but within a reading passage.
Over time, the SAT’s format has changed to better measure a student’s ability and potential. Excessive stress is put on students to do well on the SAT’s, and causes them unnecessary strain. As college admissions become more and more competitive, the need for higher test scores has increased, despite fatal flaws in the SAT test itself. Although the SAT is used by thousands of colleges and taken by millions of students, many students' scores do not reflect their true abilities, and therefore the SAT test is useless.
Its message is to do what you want to do. Society has created this idea and expectation that students must go to college in order to be successful. However, before even applying we are required to take the SAT to gauge how well we’ve done thus far.
Taking SAT and/or ACT tests are required by some college admissions and can be taken during spring semester. Scholarships are a great help to not get into
The SAT and ACT have discouraged students with their scores and ended with some not having the money to pay for SAT and ACT prep. To conclude, the SAT and ACT are a burden on minorities and low-income students applying to colleges with some not having the opportunity they can
Should The SAT Determine Your Future Throughout the years there have been many questions regarding the reliability of the SAT. Should an aptitude test be such a large factor in college acceptance. I firmly believe The SAT should not be a factor in college admissions because it has proven to be biased , unreliable, and overall unjust. The Scholastic Aptitude test, or SAT is no stranger to high school students across America. The test is divided into two sections of math and verbal language skills, a total of 138 questions with a point scale ranging from 200-800.
For years, standardized testing has been colleges’ favorite way to consider a high school student for admission. One of these tests, and possibly the most commonly known and taken, is the SAT. This school year, the College Board has decided to change the format of the SAT and administered the first round of the new SAT on March 5, 2016. When asked about whether the changes are really necessary, coordinator Olga Henderson stated that “it is difficult to say because this has been the second time that it [the SAT] has been changed.
A students ACT and SAT score is just one portion of many college applications. Colleges and Universities look at GPA, an essay, and letter of recommendations to determine a student’s admission. Many people believe that the importance of the ACT or SAT score depends on the college and what other things the student has to offer (Drinkworth, 2015). The ACT and SAT tests can be an important factor in college admissions because they tests are on all subject areas, math, reading, writing, and science. Since each area is graded separately and the score is later averaged out it shows how the students does overall in the general
In a country that promotes the ideas of grit, innovation, resourcefulness, and growth, I find it curious that American universities are still using standardized tests as an indicator of future success in college. Although standardized tests are only one factor in admissions to many colleges, they should not be used at all because they do not accurately predict the success of students in higher educational environments. Instead of using the SAT and ACT, admissions officers should put more weight on written essays, cumulative high school grade point average, extracurriculars, and letters of recommendation when deciding admissions. Although some may argue that the SAT and ACT offer a way of ranking students without factoring in grade point average, their ability to predict the future success of college students has not been demonstrated.
This is certainly an important factor: because high schools have differing grade scales, plus some amount of grade deflation or inflation, having a nationally consistent test is useful. However, while the SAT may be standardized, it is far from equitable. It has been found to have significant bias, particularly income-wise: as Biamonte (2013) found, the difference in average SAT scores between the lowest and highest income groups is nearly 130 points per section, adding up to a hefty difference across the test’s three sections. This disparity is partially explained by the use of aforementioned coaching methods; test prep classes and tutoring services are often pricey, a score-boosting luxury only available to those in higher income brackets.
The tests only ask for knowledge or facts that the student can barely recall and when taking these tests they are taken on a school day and they take 2-3 hours to complete. Standardized testing began in the 1920s to test students ability but was renamed to Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) (Livia). The American College Testing (ACT) and the SAT are both used in the United States for college admission. However Swope and Miner believe that, “Standardized tests will never answer the questions of what our children need to learn to be leaders and informed citizens in a multicultural, ever-changing world” (Cole, Hulley and Quarles 19).
It is defining who students are and that is not what these tests should be scored on. The idea of these tests are being made to select students in a faster, easier scoring area. Thousands of students take these tests every year to determine what college or university they will go to, and for public schools, it determines whether or not they will pass their grade they have been in. These standardized testing like the SAT or ACT, make it easier to judge a student. These universities and colleges should look at the overall achievement of these students as a whole.
There have been an increasing number of students who are misrepresented by a single score, yet academically succeed in college nonetheless. That is the primary reason why standardized tests should not be as highly regarded as other factors such as high-school GPA.
The SAT was introduced in 1926 for the college board and was created by Brigham. Originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the SAT has changed the meaning of its name several times. It has also previously been called the Scholastic Assessment Test, SAT 1: Reasoning Test, SAT Reasoning Test, and now finally, the SAT. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board.
Applying to colleges can be one of the most stressful things a young adult will ever have to do, but all of the parts leading up to applying for colleges can be even more stressful. High schoolers are constantly worried about all of the things they need to perfect and get done before they apply, such as taking the SATs. Standardized tests affect students much more than anyone would think. There have been several cases over the years where students paid a “smarter” student to take the SATs for them and even went through the trouble to create a fake identity for their test taker just to earn a nearly perfect score because “[o]ne of the most pressure-packed tests a young adult can take, the SAT brings back memories of stress and anxiety for many students” (Page). Students are convinced that this one test impacts their whole future; how good of a college they can get into or how successful they will be when they grow up.