Is It Finally Time to Make the 100-Year-Old Test Optional?

Scholastic Aptitude Tests, (SATs) have been around since the 1920’s and have been a large factor in determining your college applications. However, SATs are becoming less necessary for certain colleges. The SAT can be used as an indicator of your abilities, but is it really something that schools should force all students to do?  

To this day, SATs are still a non-optional exam. This is becoming a large problem amongst high school students. SATs are mainly targeted towards people who want to go to college, but what about the students who don’t want to pursue higher education? What about the students that come from low-income families? What about the students who just don’t want to take it? Shouldn’t the students have a say in their decision to take or not to take the SAT?  

“I think SAT should be 100% optional and the students who want to take them and really care about it can do whatever they want with it,” Junior, Em Simpson, said. 

The SAT causes so much stress for students because this test could possibly determine their  college lives. This is not to say the SAT is not a good experience for some people. If college is what you want to do, then the SAT may be a wonderful experience for you. However, it is important for people to understand that college is not for everyone. 

“SAT’s are a good opportunity, but they shouldn’t require so much stress,” Simpson said. 

Simpson brings up the topic of stress connected to the SAT. Standardized tests always carry a large weight behind them, especially the SAT. Since it is a test to determine a student’s college readiness, The SAT can cause high levels of anxiety. Students cram hours upon hours of studying for the test in addition to regular homework and studying. It adds a lot of unnecessary work for a student who does not want to take the test in the first place. 

In another article from University Star, (The SAT is Unfair and Shouldn’t Decide College Admissions), author, Kindalynn Ortega, pointed out that SAT’s can be unfair to people of low-income families. In a regular SAT, without the essay, it costs $50 and with the essay it costs $65. Students whose families do not make a lot of money might find it challenging to be able to pay the SAT fees.  

“This puts low-income students at a disadvantage. Students and their families may not have the means to pay for this exam out-of-pocket and not every student receives waivers to take the exam for free,” Ortega said.  

This is not to say that the standardized tests are ridiculous and should be abolished, it is simply stating the flaws with this, over 100-year-old, test. The SAT is great for students who can afford the test and who want to take it. However, there are plenty of students who do not want to take it and by forcing them to, it could cause more harm than good. It is important for SAT officials to start considering all students, not just a small group of them.