Complaints

[ibatemydog]

I blame the SAT. I think I could make a case lumping all that is wrong with the nation on standardized testing. It is to blame for our country's ignorance, for our high divorce rate, for our supposedly incompetent government, even Texas. Yes, even Texas is the College Board's fault

Comments

[km7289]

What inspired you to rant about the SATs?

I'm taking the SATs in May and I'm a little scared because I'm a slow worker so I always run out of time. I took a practice SAT test and made a lot of careless mistakes on the math section because I didn't have time to check my work.

[ibatemydog]

The SAT fosters a society intent on the idea that intelligence is fixed and measurable, which leads people to be very prone to failure, despite great intelligence.

[ayakitsune]

Let's not forget that the SATs measure book-learning and test-taking methods as opposed to common sense and sheer ability; these are very different things. After graduation, I could end up with a nice piece of paper saying I'm the greatest studio art major/english minor ever, but that does not mean shit to anybody until I create great pieces of artwork and become the next JK Rowling. I was actually told today by a professor I admire a lot that I need to stop fussing over my grades and start looking into actually doing things.

Also, if the College Board grades your test wrong, you could possibly be screwed and it's out of your hands. :D

[ibatemydog]

My point exactly. The SAT encourages a grade fixation, as opposed to a real ability fixation. The result is students who are more interested in looking good than being good. Consequently, they will avoid hard tasks in order to avoid failure, and when they do encounter they believe they no longer have the ability to do well.