[whynotminot]

This is what I don't understand about the movement that wants the SAT/ACT removed for college admissions, or claim that it's biased.

Sure, it's biased. Everything is. But it's biased in an open, auditable way that students of any background can prepare for. The rich will always have an advantage of course, but this is one of those areas where grit and determination can actually close the gap considerably.

Remove that, and a benchmark that anyone can understand and prepare for is just going to be replaced by something more opaque. You think a standardized test is biased? Do you think the application committee at most universities is going to be unbiased when they have nothing to go off but a student's essay and zip code?

It's incongruous to me that the same people who I think have a deep understanding of unconscious bias also seem to be the same ones wanting the standardized tests gone. I don't think it's going to help the people they think it will.

[ecshafer]

I absolutely agree. I grew up in a single parent household in poverty. But I was able to beat people on the SAT who grew up in extremely wealthy families. I have met plenty of people that graduated from highschool with a great gpa and went to good schools solely because of their family, and I have known dozens of people that I know are pretty sharp who didn't get to school because of family circumstances.

Anything that seeks to further widen the rich / poor gap like this is in my mind, completely unethical.