Standardized testing is no stranger to the average American student. Particularly in public schools, teachers are given a certain curriculum they are required to teach, and students will be tested on how well they obtain the information taught to them. From there, the school will take the scores made and properly place students of similar test scores together. The rankings would include above-average students, average students, and below-average students. Eventually, as the scholars reach a certain level, these tests begin to decipher more than the knowledge one has accumulated. Tests such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), American College Tests (ACT), Postsecondary Education Readiness Test (PERT), and Graduate Record Examination (GRE USA), are all required to continue post-secondary education. And through these tests or any standardized test can be beneficial, they can also hinder students from excelling. What if there are incredibly smart students, but their test scores say otherwise? Therefore, they would be placed in a classroom setting that is not up to par with their intelligence. What if there are students who are not as smart as their peers but are amazing guessers when it comes to testing. That student would then be put in a class they might not be able to keep up with, thus, causing them to fail. As a result of the stress and anxiety, test scores may not accurately reflect a student’s academic abilities. Scoring well on these standardized tests has become equated with having a good future in most students’ minds, and scoring badly, can greatly affect a students’ confidence.

Statistics show that 69.1% of high school completers attend college in the fall after graduation. According to educationaldata.org, of the number of students that apply to college, 29% are excepted out of 75% due to their test scores—among other things. This leads me to the main topic of this article: Why should a test deem us unamicable to attend college?

As a high school senior myself, I among other students are burdened with the pressure of life after secondary education. What is our life going to look like in the future? Are we going to be successful? Several scholars, including oneself, equate college with a success. If you attend college, you can get a good job, make money, live in above-average neighborhoods, and have an amazing family. Overall, college is the underlined definition of success. Though in reality, it’s not. Some people attend college and get degrees in something that there is no job for. It can essentially put anyone in debt. But people with certain standardized test scores will not be able to bask in these luxuries. And the same people going broke off their overly expensive post-secondary education, are the same people looking down upon the people not able to get into college.

Beginning a student’s journey to college; they must first start with a list of colleges they want to attend. From there, they will look up the qualifications and begin signing up for the SAT and/or the ACT. The pressure of getting above a great score is undeniably heavy. I mean, this is the test that will make or break you in the eyes of the college admissions counselors. This test will open doors for scholarships and acceptance letters. But why? Why should they open doors for scholarships and acceptance when a student’s grades should do that. Of course, every college looks at a student’s grades. They want to make sure they are not letting just anyone in; which is understandable. Take a student with a 4.0 GPA for an example. Imagine they are below average on the testing scale and end up making an 800 on the SAT. Collages are not going to care about the years of work that this student had put in. The hours of studying, reading, analyzing, and struggling; no one is going to acknowledge that. All they see is that this person obtained an 800 on the SAT essentially meaning this person is not fit for college and all that it offers. For the people who make good test scores, and for the people who don’t, testing is still not over. Though most colleges have ridden this, most colleges have entrance tests. These tests are for people to see if they are ready to take college tests. The questions given are one’s you will see as you further your college education. So in reality, they are measuring your guessing skills. How on earth is a person going to know these certain questions if they have not learned them.

Over the years, many teenagers have been judged based on their testing scores. Time after time, there have been mistakes where high schools will place smart people in below-average classes or academically challenged students above average based on test scores that are not always accurate. And colleges are no different. Colleges now-of-days pride themselves on their acceptance rate. Getting them lower percentages in acceptance means that the school becomes more desired. Colleges were their students to get a near-perfect score to enter. And even then, they don’t accept them. Take Stanford University for example; they have an acceptance rate of 4%. Stanford’s acceptance GPA is 4.8 and their SAT/ACT scores should be in the top three percent. Even then, their acceptance is not guaranteed. With all the volunteering, AP Classes, and day in and day out studying for an above perfect GPA, if your standardized test scores are not in the three percentile (1550-1600/34-36), you can kiss your dream of going to any top college.