SAT's

[John Klyne]

Just a hint...

What do you all think about SAT Scores...? In my opinion, they show how well you know how to take 1 test, which stupidly determines the college you go to...but what do you all think? Here is America, leaving the students in the hands of a test, that psychologically puts a student in a mood, to DO BAD ON IT....

Have fun with this topic : ) ... hehe.

 

[mcklovin]

I've found that most who complain about the SAT/ACT do so because they blew off the first three years of high school and are shell shocked when they have to take it.

If you pay attention and do all your work in the first 3 years you'll be fine.

 

[Smith6612]

Well, the SATs don't cover much at all. Just English and Math (two fields which I know many people aren't the greatest in) mainly. What the colleges really need to look at are your traits, personality as well as how motivated you are towards the subject the person in question wants the college to teach them (as well as some academic ability, which is where the SAT could/is coming into play), vs. a silly test score which has so many variables added in it. After all, colleges do want their $$$, right?

 

[descalzo]

What the colleges really need to look at are your traits, personality as well as how motivated you are towards the subject the person in question wants the college to teach them

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—The University of Michigan received 29,794 applications from prospective freshmen for 2008
...
As of June 5, 12,533 students were offered admission to the University's Ann Arbor campus.
...
This year's incoming class will be at or near the preferred size of 5,710

They really don't have the time or the resources to do in depth screening.

While imperfect, SATs do help measure the ability of students to pass college level courses.

High School grades can be horribly inflated.

Recommendations depend on how good a writer the source is.

 

[John Klyne]

I've found that most who complain about the SAT/ACT do so because they blew off the first three years of high school and are shell shocked when they have to take it.

If you pay attention and do all your work in the first 3 years you'll be fine.

No worries about me, I've taken them years ago. But I like how so many stress over them in the town I live in at least. The colleges can't find a way to get a clear set of how the students are, and that is what makes them resort to tests like the SAT's or ACT's to see if they are any where near the "range" of "smartness" they want their students to possess.
Edit:

What the colleges really need to look at are your traits, personality as well as how motivated you are towards the subject the person in question wants the college to teach them (as well as some academic ability, which is where the SAT could/is coming into play), vs. a silly test score which has so many variables added in it. After all, colleges do want their $$$, right?

If someone can come up with a way to learn about their motivation/personality and smarts all in one small package/test/ ...something not book related. Little do the colleges ask for a brain capacity test/try to get you to scan your brain and see how active you really are. Now I did not pursue a career related to the brain, but according to my knowledge, the amount of brain activity that shows up, while scanning your brain, can show how well you do in, mathematics related courses compared to non-mathematics related courses...the scan can also show, how physically active you are, how well your speech may be, how much time you spend on the computer/watching tv or reading a book...the scan can show you how fast you read, learn broad concepts or whether you are a righty or a lefty. The scan can show, how tall you are bound to get, or when you'll have a heartattack or whether or not you have a tumor in your head (THE LAST EXAMPLE is the ONLY reason people take these scans)...

I think it's about time someone told the colleges about this "cool" invention...

Well what do you all think about that last paragraph of mine? Too bad, I'm busy learning whatever else I feel like learning...I would not mind working on this concept in the future though...it is bound to bring me loads of cash...and increase revenue of the medical industry/insurance industry. : ) ...

PS...it's not too late to start investing in the medical/insurance industry... Take it from me.

 

[Sharky]

Sounds like the military testing I went through...
Thorough medical, fitness, and all followed by intensive aptitude testing. Stuff like multitasking (doing stuff that doesn't require any sort of conventional knowledge, at the same time as other stuff that does -- hey, they don't want idiots...), moving a joystick in relation to on screen events, interpreting logic, reaction times, and the like.

Suffice to say, I passed them all with flying colours. The phrase "highest score I've seen in a long time" was mentioned, but that's enough of that

 

[Smith6612]

If someone can come up with a way to learn about their motivation/personality and smarts all in one small package/test/ ...something not book related. Little do the colleges ask for a brain capacity test/try to get you to scan your brain and see how active you really are. Now I did not pursue a career related to the brain, but according to my knowledge, the amount of brain activity that shows up, while scanning your brain, can show how well you do in, mathematics related courses compared to non-mathematics related courses...the scan can also show, how physically active you are, how well your speech may be, how much time you spend on the computer/watching tv or reading a book...the scan can show you how fast you read, learn broad concepts or whether you are a righty or a lefty. The scan can show, how tall you are bound to get, or when you'll have a heartattack or whether or not you have a tumor in your head (THE LAST EXAMPLE is the ONLY reason people take these scans)...

I think it's about time someone told the colleges about this "cool" invention...

Well what do you all think about that last paragraph of mine? Too bad, I'm busy learning whatever else I feel like learning...I would not mind working on this concept in the future though...it is bound to bring me loads of cash...and increase revenue of the medical industry/insurance industry. : ) ...

PS...it's not too late to start investing in the medical/insurance industry... Take it from me.

Oh, I didn't mean such a thing in that sense, I assure you. Once I'm more settled over something I just read about a secret copyright agreement that's being written up behind the world's back, I'll post up what I really meant.

 

[fractalfeline]

I prefer the NMSQT just because it sounds really funny if you try to pronounce it Like some sort of absurd insult. "You nimsquat!"

I remember being in high school, and everyone was stressing out for the SAT. I didn't study for the thing, didn't look at the SAT Prep Books, and only took it once. And yeah, that morning... cold Saturday mornings aren't really good for my test taking mojo. I remember staring at a few math problems with nothing but blank upstairs... and after getting home and my brain warming up, I was like DOH, I knew that. I probably could have done better if had practiced or something, but I decided I didn't care enough about it to retake it. And many years later, it doesn't seem to have mattered a whole lot what my score was. Perhaps I didn't make it into the really pretentious schools, but I liked the college I ended up at. So all's well that ends well I guess

Overrated if you ask me

 

[xav0989]

Up here in Quebec (in Canada), there is no uniform test between college and university. In the last year of high school, you get a couple of gouvernement-made exam, one for each program you are in. Afterward, the only uniform test is a french test at the end of college (we do 6 years in elementary, 5 in high school, 2-3 in college, and then we have university). At the end of college, the government ranks you relative to your group and the rest of all the students in the province, and depending on which college you attended, your rank can go up.

SAT's do have their advantages, but I kinda prefer the French Canadian method. You basically get ranked for tests you took during 4-5 years.

 

[adamparkzer]

Just a hint...

What do you all think about SAT Scores...? In my opinion, they show how well you know how to take 1 test, which stupidly determines the college you go to...but what do you all think? Here is America, leaving the students in the hands of a test, that psychologically puts a student in a mood, to DO BAD ON IT....

Have fun with this topic : ) ... hehe.

I don't really care about how the SAT determines how good of a college I get into. I've always been a good test taker, so I do pretty well on all tests, including the SAT. I guess people that have taken a lot of tests before and have test-taking skills are deemed as higher qualified to go to a good college.

 

[eowmedia]

I think that too much emphasis is placed on standardized tests (like the SAT) during grade school and high school. Kids are forced to sacrifice interaction and socialization so they can learn how to fill in ovals and write what's required inside the extra small box assigned to it. And then the schools and government wonder why so many of those youngsters have problems with living in today's society after graduating from school. I believe that overemphasis on a packet of paper during school should be replaced by a written test covering actual school subjects, and supplimented by records of how a child does during lessons AND Recess. That would prove more revealing about how a student does in school than just a standardized test that gets taught to the kids instead of actual life skills.

 

[jtwhite]

I think that too much emphasis is placed on standardized tests (like the SAT) during grade school and high school. Kids are forced to sacrifice interaction and socialization so they can learn how to fill in ovals and write what's required inside the extra small box assigned to it. And then the schools and government wonder why so many of those youngsters have problems with living in today's society after graduating from school. I believe that overemphasis on a packet of paper during school should be replaced by a written test covering actual school subjects, and supplimented by records of how a child does during lessons AND Recess. That would prove more revealing about how a student does in school than just a standardized test that gets taught to the kids instead of actual life skills.

I see where you're coming from but I don't think we should throw out all standardized testing.

I've recently taken the ACT, scores should start showing in 3 days, I'm about to die waiting to know what I made on it. The test was very generic and I didn't think it was hard. I don't see the big deal of very general tests such as these, it does show something about a student's knowledge. As adamparkzer said, as long as you don't blow off high school, you'll do absolutely fine.

 

[Smith6612]

I think that too much emphasis is placed on standardized tests (like the SAT) during grade school and high school. Kids are forced to sacrifice interaction and socialization so they can learn how to fill in ovals and write what's required inside the extra small box assigned to it. And then the schools and government wonder why so many of those youngsters have problems with living in today's society after graduating from school. I believe that overemphasis on a packet of paper during school should be replaced by a written test covering actual school subjects, and supplimented by records of how a child does during lessons AND Recess. That would prove more revealing about how a student does in school than just a standardized test that gets taught to the kids instead of actual life skills.

BAM! You nailed my beliefs in how colleges should look at things for the most part right on the head. What good is standardized testing when really how successful you'll be in college as well as in life depends on your personality, your social interactions, etc? I can be the smartest person in the world and get a perfect SAT score, but I could also be a rude, arrogant, stuck up person who doesn't talk to anyone and I could get absolutely nowhere in college or later on.

 

[John Klyne]

I can be the smartest person in the world and get a perfect SAT score, but I could also be a rude, arrogant, stuck up person who doesn't talk to anyone and I could get absolutely nowhere in college or later on.

That what usually happens..to some extent, we all know there are 3 kinds of people...1st kind, is good at tests...gets straight A's and is NOT social...2nd kind....doesn't do great in school/sucks in school...but is probably one of the most social kids AROUND....3rd kind...(most of the people) do well/don't do well...have some friends...but aren't the most popular....

In my opinion, school doesn't set you up for what is really out there in life....(who in the world can say they used Trigonomentry AT ALL after school was over? that's right no one can, if any at all....

They should be teaching students/scholars how to handle a credit card, push carts at Shop Rite (hehe) or hitch hike around the state...well that's just my opinion...

 

[ah-blabla]

That what usually happens..to some extent, we all know there are 3 kinds of people...1st kind, is good at tests...gets straight A's and is NOT social...2nd kind....doesn't do great in school/sucks in school...but is probably one of the most social kids AROUND....3rd kind...(most of the people) do well/don't do well...have some friends...but aren't the most popular....

4th category: highly intelligent people who are also rather social etc. Have a good memory and intellect, so therefore don't need to study too much / know how to organise themselves, do lots of other things, but get the best grades. Highly rare.

BTW, trigonometry is quite useful for Engineers, Mathematicians etc. So some things are useful from school, depending on context.

Teaching basic skills (credit cards etc.) is something parents should be doing. School is for you to get an education. Unfortunately the school system in the UK, maybe the US as well isn't particularly good: the old grammar school / normal (?) school system was much better, since people who won't go on to an academic lifestyle then learn things more relevant to their later life. This system works quite well in Switzerland, where most people go to secondary school, start an apprenticeship (apprenticeship and school are done simultaneously) at 15, and then you transfer gradually into a working life. If your grades are good enough you get to go to Grammar school, go onto University (College I think they call it in the US) and so on. Supposedly this system isn't "fair", but somehow everyone I know that doesn't go to grammar school is rather happy, and many people specifically choose this route.

Back on topic:
Is it just me or are SATs incredibly easy for what their role is? They seem even easier than the A-Level / Advanced Higher system of exams as done in the UK..

 

[Smith6612]

Back on topic:
Is it just me or are SATs incredibly easy for what their role is? They seem even easier than the A-Level / Advanced Higher system of exams as done in the UK..

From what I've heard it's just more or less a "busy" work exam requiring you to do Math and English. I'll see if I can get a hold of an older SAT test to take a look at to confirm this if anyone doesn't chime in.

 

[ah-blabla]

I just downloaded a SAT test paper, and it is seriously a joke. The maths part of it I had enough knowledge to do maybe in 3rd/4th year of secondary school, and isn't challenging at all. The Language parts are dead easy as well. I have also been doing some SAT practice questions online and only have one wrong so far (and that was just a careless mistake in a maths question). I really don't know what the SAT is meant to test apart from rather basic general knowledge.

 

[jmjatlanta]

Does anyone see the irony in the title of this thread? I'm just wondering.

 

[ah-blabla]

Does anyone see the irony in the title of this thread? I'm just wondering.

What a perfect example of what's in a nice SAT question!

 

[bradym]

Scholastic Aptitude. That's what the test is measuring, your scholastic aptitude, and in most colleges the style of teaching/learning is lecture/notes/testing, at least at the lower levels. It's the methods of a "scholar" in the traditional sense. That's unfortunate, but it is what it is. The test is one measurement tool for colleges to guage how well you will probably do in that traditional scholastic atmosphere. They have to have some objective tool to weed out those who will probably not do well, so they can maximize their dollars and their limited space/resources. It's not the only tool, though. There is the essay and the portfolio of activities and achievements throughout high school and post high school life. Life experiences count for a lot to those who have been out of high school for a few years and are going back to college. And that's all in the typical college application.

I personally know a student who had very high grades in a very rigorous high school program, who got high SAT scores, and who was not accepted into a state university, and the only reason he could think of was that he admittedly blew off the essay and made a joke out of it. Probably because he thought that with scores like his, why should he have to write one. That said as much for a low aptitiude as his scores might have said about a high aptitude. The college decided that with an attitude like his, he didn't have the aptitude to do well in the university setting.

Why the stress? Because there's also a lot of MONEY riding on high SAT scores. They can lead to scholarships, lots of scholarships.

Should there be other ways? Probably, but can you think of a way that is as objective and cost effective as the current system of SAT's, essays, and college applications packets? I can't.