Test , test, and more tests! We are all in college so therefore we have had to take a standardized test or two in our lifetime. Whether it was a state test, a placement test, or our favorites: the SAT and the ACTs. In order to read this blog you have to be in Science in Our World, to be in the class you have to be at Penn State, and to be in Penn State you have to be accepted, and to be accepted you have to take….a standardize test. While many schools implement these tests to measure the knowledge of a student I look at the actual process and wonder if its really fair. Looking at the big picture kids who grow up in a low income household are essentially put at a disadvantage.
To begin with the test is a bit pricey. So what about the kids who can not take the test multiple times to get the desired score that they are looking for. Now of course there is always the choice of vouchers but you can only use that one time. I’m then brought to kids who are more privileged and have the opportunity to take the test to take the test more than once. To me, this isn’t fair. Nine times out of ten a child does not pick their living situation, but rather they are just born into it and have to make due.
The National Center for Fair and Open Testing measured the same thing I was worried about. After reviewing numbers provided by The College Board, their findings were sad but factual. In their studies they found that students with wealthier families outscored poorer families by an astounding 400 points. There was an obvious strong correlation between SAT scores and the amount of money the parents made. If you look at the graph below you can see the strong correlation…
Analyzing the findings by the College Board, we must dig deeper as scientist and try and figure out the whys and hows. After viewing the stats it is obvious that the money that the families bring in allow the students to have more resources. With that being said, kids with rich families can buy private tutors or attend prep classes that teach techniques that can help raise the score of these students. This once again puts privileged kids a few steps ahead of the other kids who are not able to afford these special classes.
Branching off of finances we can assume that families with more money live in better neighborhoods. In better neighborhoods they have a better educational system or can afford to send their kid off to a private school. These fancy schools have high graduation rates as well as college prep classes. On the other hand students with less money might not get the same opportunity and may end up stuck in a crumbling public school.
As I don’t want to seem like a hypocrite I could see where other may form a counter argument. In my opponents side they may view America as the land of the free and full of opportunity. By that I mean they may believe that a kid coming from a low income family could go out get a job and make something of themselves, or just work harder to get the score that they want.
While both sides make sense, it is scientifically evident that there is certainly a strong correlation between family incomes and the score of the student.
According to The College Board, they notice the many issues with this test and are making a new test in Spring 2015 that will be designed to be more “fair.” “David Coleman, President of the College Board, told the New York Times that the test (along with the ACT) had ‘become disconnected from the work of our high schools.'”
This new test design is geared towards students despite their backgrounds and family income. To many this isn’t really solving anything because once again, you still have to pay for the actual test. All in all, I think this is a problem that many are starting to become aware of and trying to take action on.
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2014/10/07/sat-scores-and-income-inequality-how-wealthier-kids-rank-higher/
http://theweek.com/speedreads/index/257504/speedreads-how-family-income-determines-sat-scores-in-one-revealing-chart
http://www.msnbc.com/all/sat-scores-trend-family-income
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/files/2013/02/teset11.jpeg
I think how well a student does on standardized test is based on a combination of factors such as intelligence, preparation, motivation, concentration etc. It also could imply other variables that we do not know yet. But i do not think that how well a student do determine if he is smarter than the other student that got a lower score.http://bsmknighterrant.org/commentary/2014/01/14/standardized-testing-is-not-an-accurate-measure-of-intelligence/ this website explains how those test do not measure intelligence .
Colleges should not pick a student over another one base on those tests.