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by kory 2200 days ago
The problem is that standardized tests worsen the gap between the privileged and not. Test performance correlates strongly with how much prep you receive. Wealthy, white & asian students have the advantage there.

Not to mention that I am not convinced these tests strongly correlate with one’s ability to successfully complete an undergrad degree.
2 comments
retortio 2200 days ago
What's harder: gaining admission to a prestigious private high school that costs $50,000 a year or getting a few cheap SAT test books, watching some free YouTube videos and practicing for a few weeks?

The point is that the SAT can be practiced for (to a small extent), but the resources necessary to improve one's score are cheap and widely available. It's one of the most equitable aspects of college admissions we have.

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DuskStar 2200 days ago
> Not to mention that I am not convinced these tests strongly correlate with one’s ability to successfully complete an undergrad degree.

I'm pretty sure that they do, at least if you're looking at the set of all students and not "students who got into university X". (If you only look at students who got in, you get issues like this [0] where height does not correlate with performance in the NBA, likely because short guys in the NBA had to be more skilled to get there in the first place)

After all, the ACT/SAT are largely poor IQ tests, and IQ really does predict academic success...

0: https://twitter.com/page_eco/status/1160900306588164096

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