Standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT, have been used across America for over a century. They are designed to measure a student’s knowledge and understanding of specific subjects, mainly reading, writing and math, and aim to be a fair way to measure student success by using a universal test and grading system.
However, the nature of the test is to analyze specific knowledge and practices. It fails to acknowledge student growth, critical thinking, problem-solving skills and creativity.
The scores on these tests have been used as an important part of the college admissions process for decades. Students with good grades but a low SAT score could see their chances of admission into a selective school largely diminished, when in reality, they may be better candidates than their peers with higher scores.
Standardized tests are not an accurate measure of intelligence and should not be treated as such.
Socioeconomic status (SES) also plays a huge role in standardized test scores because students have different opportunities and access to education depending on their background. Students and districts in a low-SES background mainly have access to underfunded schools, less qualified teachers, poor technology and internet and limited access to educational resources. This directly impacts students’ SAT or ACT scores because their level and quality of education strongly influence them.
On the other hand, students from a high-SES background typically have access to a better-funded education system, tutoring and extracurricular activities. They have likely had a better educational experience and more opportunities to expand their knowledge. These students are more likely to score higher on standardized tests.
In 2023, The Harvard Gazette found that “children of the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans were 13 times likelier than the children of low-income families to score 1300 or higher on SAT/ACT tests.”
Several additional factors differentiate low and high-SES students, including a lack of mental health resources, transportation options and education about health and nutrition. While these factors don’t directly correlate to education, they impact students heavily.
In addition, many students experience stress and/or anxiety before and during standardized testing. We’ve all experienced our heart racing before a test, but with standardized testing like the SAT and ACT, this anxiety is accentuated due to the pressure on students to perform well.
According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), stress levels “contribute significantly to lower test scores.” Students with anxiety tend to experience much stronger stress levels before tests, especially standardized tests like the SAT or ACT. This can negatively impact a score and cause a student to either study and retake the test (likely with a small score increase if any) or accept their score and hope they can get into college relying on their other factors.
People praise these tests for their universal metric, but fail to understand how limited they truly are. These tests do not account for life skills needed to succeed in college and the workforce, like problem-solving and creativity, and they give students with higher socioeconomic backgrounds an unfair advantage.
Fortunately, many colleges and universities across the country have created a test-optional admissions environment. This choice was mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the limited resources available to all students during that time. When standardized tests were paused during the pandemic, most schools stopped requiring scores.
Today, over 2,000 four-year colleges are test-optional, which allows students to place a higher emphasis on aspects of their individuality, like their personal essays or extracurricular activities.
However, this number is quickly dwindling. As we move further away from the pandemic, many colleges are returning to their original admission process and requiring applicants to submit test scores once again. Dozens of universities are requiring students to submit test scores for the 2025-2026 application cycle, including famous institutions like Harvard and MIT.
Colleges now requiring SAT/ACT scores would benefit from using these as a supplementary resource rather than a primary one — they are much less reliable for determining worthy candidates for admissions and scores are typically a direct result of their environment.
If a single test can’t define a person’s worth, why should it define their future?
