There are numerous tests worldwide that must be completed by students. For example, PSSA’s, SAT’s and Keystones. Keystones are exclusively Pennsylvania based tests that are mandatory of all students in their high school years. I remember taking both my math and bio keystones my freshman year, and literally after barely passing by say 5 points, my hate for standardized tests really grew. While the math keystone can be taken in the 8th grade, if fortunate enough, bio is available in the 9th and 10th grade, and the english keystone is only offered in the 10th and 11th grade. The worst part is they are mandatory. There is no way bypassing these tests unless your excuse are religious reasons. Luckily for me, these tests are not mandatory to for graduating high schools like it is for the class of 2023 and above. So that means for students, like my brother, are required to pass all three of their keystones to even be standing at their graduation.

This is absurd considering the fact there are most definitely going to be students who will not be able to graduate with their peers because they did not score well on these tests. For comparison, it’s like stating students who do not score a 1200+ on the SAT are not allowed to be admitted into any colleges. It is not a fair evaluation of a student’s potential success later in life and should not be nearly as important as it is currently. Also the keystones being based on different level performances does not do it any justice either. Having students be ranked on a basis of below basic, basic, proficient, and advanced. For starters, having these differing categories are bad enough, but to state someone as below basic and basic is just cruel to say the least. Having someone specified to a certain label can make them feel insecure and incompetent about their abilities within school.

After doing some fellow research on the origin and history of the keystone exams, I have found some rather interesting details that I had not previously known. For starters the test was introduced in 2010 and consisted of many subjects like, English, Bio, Algebra 1, but also Chemistry, Civics, and Government. Thankfully these tests have been narrowed down to its three core subjects because chemistry and government were guaranteed fails for me. Also stated within this article are the motives behind the Keystones. “Establishing high school graduation requirements for students throughout the state; and providing a way for the state and the federal government to hold high schools accountable for educating students” (carautis). Don’t get me wrong, just like with most other standardized test, the keystone has the right idea but is just being executed in the wrong manner. I completely understand the idea of making kids responsible for learning and having a test to prove if students are doing what they are supposed to be doing. But making it mandatory in order to graduate just does not hold fair. Maybe I am being too critical of standardized tests because I am a bad test taker myself, or maybe there needs to be change in how these tests are handled to better fit every ones needs.

Also, within my school, kids were offered incentives for receiving a proficient or advanced on the test. If they received either one, they were given exemptions from final exams their senior years. Not only were people who failed these tests, not given any recognition, there were not given any rewards to push them forward and motivate them to do better.  Another crucial factor that can directly affect the students and the school are the dropout rates. With students learning the only way to graduate is with good grades and keystone testings, there are definitely going to be more dropouts as more students are going to find school even more difficult than before.

It just seems as keystones, let alone all standardized tests, should be revised or discarded as a whole. It just fills a student with a huge amount of anxiety and fear, as well as puts a huge burden on their shoulders to feel accomplished in life. High school should not be a competition, it should be a safe place for students as they learn their place in life. Pitting kids against each other as if it is an all out brawl is not doing any justice except for the kids who are sitting pretty at the top. It just boosts one kid’s self esteem and lowers another. It can be seen in the same light as GPA and class rank as it just puts students head-to-head instead of working together. I know this is true because I would always ask my friends, “what’s your GPA? or what’s your class rank? ” as I always seen it as a competition as well. Then I received my 4.0 GPA and my top 20% in my class rank and soon enough realized it meant nothing. Just like with tests, none of it matters at the end of day. These are just scores that have little to no predictive value of how a student may actually perform later down the road.

If it was not obvious already with my blogs, standardized tests are my least favorite things in the world as I feel they do not accurately represent a student. To sum it all up, correct idea, however, just poor execution.

Work Cited:

• https://www.carautismroadmap.org/history-and-current-status-of-keystone-exams-in-pennsylvania/#:~:text=In%202010%2C%20Pennsylvania%20passed%20a,History%2C%20and%20Civics%20and%20Government.
• https://www.pennlive.com/politics/2018/06/momentum_growing_for_killing_t.html#:~:text=Critics%20feared%20it%20would%20lead,complained%20that%20it%20was%20discriminatory.

Advance Placement (AP) courses are some of the biggest teases out there. Let’s begin with the history of AP courses. According to this article by McCammon, “The story of the AP program begins in the 1950s. In the midst of the Cold war, American policy makers began to fear that high school was not adequately preparing students for college and post-graduate school” (McCammon). As stated, AP courses were inputted with the intention of bettering ones education as preparation for life beyond high school. Don’t get me wrong, this idea is phenomenal, however, the way it actually works in today’s world is beyond ridiculous.

The Advance Placement program is run by CollegeBoard, no surprise as these are the same people who sponsor the SAT’s. AP courses as what I was told was, “Just like college courses.” However, this statement is not even remotely true. For starters, these courses are two semesters long. College courses are only one semester. So you take an AP course and must remember a year long of work and then apply it to just one test. College courses usually consist of multiple exams/papers, attendance, homework, the typical stuff. I mean AP courses have this for the most part, however, the test at the end decides if the course was worth the time, commitment, and pain. The whole course is not dependent on if you attend class everyday and pay attention or pass every test handed to you. None of that matters if you do not pass the only assignment that matters. And don’t get me started on the scoring guidelines. Based on a scale of 1-5 where basically a 5 is an A- or A and a 4 is a B-,B or B+ and a 3 is an C+ or a C. However, even when you pass, you fail. For most schools, threes are not accepted, yet even though I was told a 3 is a totally acceptable score. Yet most schools don’t even consider the number and don’t accept it as transfer credits. So you must be thinking a 4 and 5 are safe numbers, however, I received 4 on my AP psych exam and yet still didn’t receive credit. Only scores of 5 were accepted, which makes me question the point of AP testing? If I clearly display an understanding of the subject and clearly pass the test that quizzes my knowledge, why am I not rewarded?

I mean there are obviously positives outlooks of AP courses. For example, the GPA multiplier is so beneficial to a student, it is a rigorous and challenging course so it helps with time management, and if the test is passed and the college you are attending accepts your score, you can skip that course your freshman year and have those credits already in stock. Yea well that’s where all the positives end. I honestly believe AP have the right idea but are based around the wrong criteria. Maybe it should take into encounter how a student does throughout the course. Did they finish with an A in the course? Maybe if they weighed the letter grade of the course as 50% and the final test as 50%, instead of the test being completely 100% then it would better suite a student.

Just like with the PSAT and SAT, these tests must be paid for. Luckily for me I had a reduced cost on my exams, paying somewhere around $50 per test. Normally for students they cost around $100. Most students take around 3-5 AP courses so that’s around 300-500 dollars spent. And just like with the SAT, the score you get is the score you get and there are no refunds. There is the option of opting out of the test, however, then the course feels pointless because most people take it with the intention of passing the test and receiving credits. Also with AP courses, they are not offered everywhere. There are some schools who do not offer an AP courses at all, and some schools that do, don’t offer all of the available AP courses. I know for the STEM school near me, AP Psych isn’t an offered course so you would have to go back and forth with the public high school to take the course. Some schools don’t even offer AP Psych at all, or AP computer science, or AP Chinese. It gives schools that are offering these courses a major advantage, especially heading into college.

Many young students see AP courses as the ideal course as it prepares one for college and looks good on one’s application. This can lead kids to take more than 2 AP courses in a school year and lead to a lot of stress being built up. They have multiple exams to pay and to study for. Days end of homework and less time to socially interact which is not good for the mental health. According to an article, “Across the country, students are overloading themselves, thinking that taking 10 AP classes is the ticket to a selective school. This leads to stressed-out, burned-out students. Plus, taking AP courses doesn’t even guarantee admission into like Harvard and Stanford” (Edwards). In life nothing is guaranteed. Getting a 1500 on your SAT, a 4.0 GPA, and completing 8 AP courses does not guarantee someone a placement into an ivy league school. There are others factors that play into this like legacy, wealth, extracurriculars, etc..

There are many flawed ways about going with AP courses, and personally believe there are more downsides than upsides, yet it is all dependent on the person. If someone is majoring in biology for college and wants to complete AP bio, I believe that is perfectly logical and an understandable approach. If someone is talented enough to just take any AP course they want without the fear of failing, then go right on ahead and take as many as you please. AP’s serve the right purpose, however, can use some minor tweaks to make the system work better overall.

Sources:

• https://blog.prepscholar.com/the-5-worst-problems-with-college-board-ap-program
• https://blog.prepscholar.com/history-of-ap-classes-exams

These blogs are not intended for political purposes so I will be stating the problems with a certain criteria of school curriculums and better choices to fixing them.

Everyone can, for the part, agree SATs are not great predictors for success in college. The biggest concern with SATs is how heavily weighted they are for college admissions. SATs are more likely than not the number one accessibility looked at by college administrators. SATs are standardized test based around both literature and mathematics. This is a problem in its own as there are many students who do not specialize in neither  literature or math. Maybe a student has a strong desire in biology or art and want to apply to the top school in their respected interest, however are not able to attend due to the want of high SAT scores. A better solution would be, fore-say art school, instead of submitting SAT and Act scores, Gpa should be a requirement but also pieces of one owns artwork. It is an art school after all. If someone who is extremely talented in art is accepted just based on their talent then it seems a lot more balanced and fair than someone being rejected for not being “smart enough”. This should also have little to no objection as the competitive nature is still there with other artists.

Not only do SAT not fit every student that takes it, but some people are just terrible test taker. Personally, I tend to stress a lot when I know I am taking a test that basically determines my future. There are students who have a major disabilities like ADHD or anxiety disorders who genuinely struggle with tests overall, and this can interfere with their chances of getting into some of their hopeful colleges. Not only do disabilities affect the chances of SAT scores, but also ethnicity. I know the graph is a little unclear so I will basically sum it up. Asians, followed, by whites, then, Mexican Americans, and lastly black earn the most family income based on SAT scores. These are outdated at this was recorded in 1995, however, this is just a reference point to show the racial differences in education between races. The graph on the right indicates average SAT scores among differences ethnicities. Ranking at the topper asians, white, hispanic, then blacks. This a continuous trend at any time stamp as asians are consistently in the top percentile and blacks ranking at the bottom 20%. The reasons for this is unclear. Is it bad teaching? Bad communities where the people are raised? Is it less ambition from blacks as opposed to asians or whites? unfair opportunities provided to “richer” people? or is the SAT measuring the wrong qualities in people.

Some more minute details that make the SAT far worse than it seems are intangibles like the fee of the test, SAT scores are not the best predictors for how someone will succeed or fail in college, it is weighed far more heavily than GPA, extracurriculars, essays, etc. SAT tests, depended on scenarios, can cause around $55 dollars per person. This around the same cost of AP tests, however most people take the SAT multiple times so they are spending around 150-200 dollars. That is also not including the PSAT, which costs around 30 on its own. The biggest problem with paying for these tests is if you receive a score you are not necessarily proud of, nothing can be done. If someone’s dream school is NYU, who accept SAT scores primarily 1370+, and the student earns a 1200, not stating they have no chance, but definitely a slimmer chance. The only solution is primarily tutoring which go for outrageous amounts in itself. The Princeton review, which is the suggested tutoring service, charges $1,750 for a “guaranteed” 1400+ score. However, these scores are not guaranteed as its not like they are taking the test for you. Surely they will help you study and better grasp ideas, but at the end of the day the test is taken by the student and they are the deciding factor on if the $1,750 was even worth the spend.

The other huge problems with SATs are they take away from other seemingly important factors when applying for college admissions. Things like recommendations, essays, extracurriculars are basically all neglected, which we as high school students, we’re all told were some of the most important things that colleges look at. Soon enough we began to realize that SAT and GPA are the only two important factors to college administrators. Being captain of the football team, president of your class, or even partaking in 5+ clubs, have little to no relevance. Having a prestigious teacher complement your style of learning and interaction has no meaning. An essay about what makes a certain school interesting or the struggles you’ve endured up to this point in your life are all irrelevant.

The last main problem with the SAT is that they are widely known as “entrance” exams for college. That the higher someone receives on the SAT, the better the college they should attend, which theoretically means they should do better than someone who received a lower score. This is by no means accurate as they are many confounding variables that play into these situations. Someone who is a bad test taker could have a higher IQ than someone who is particularly better at tests. So who’s smarter? Or maybe someone is not as motivated as another student to study the SAT and does not put in the same effort to try and receive the highest grade. There are also kids who can afford to take the SAT multiple times and afford tutors while others can only rely on themselves. The SAT is not an indicator of a kids potential and intelligence and should be removed. How? yea well that is a hard question to answer. I do believe the SAT has the right idea but should be more advanced. Maybe instead of just narrowing it down to just verbal and math, maybe science can be introduced or something I have no idea. Or maybe just reducing the amount of importance the test carries on admission decisions.

Photo links

• https://mishtalk.com/economics/college-entrance-exam-sat-score-racial-profiling-964-1223
• http://theunsilencedscience.blogspot.com/2013/10/black-suits-gowns-skin-sat-scores-by.html

My civic issue blog will be based around school, however very specifically testing in the school curriculum. Using statistics and graphs to compare how students fair with/without SAT scores, if there has been any improvements in students since standardized testing has been implemented, and do AP/IB courses really prepare you for college.