The SAT is a state test that most colleges require and many colleges have started leaning away towards the SAT. The SAT is to see how well you can do math and English, and it might cause some to stress out or put pressure on kids to do well on the test, just because many colleges look at how well you do the SAT. But many kids aren’t good at tests but are good in class, and it can also be the other way where their very good at testing but not the class.
Junior Eun Kyeong said, “the importance of state testing is for the state to get a grip on the type of students that are educated in classes and to make sure that schools are doing their job. .”
Many colleges require you to take the SAT so that they can better grasp your level of education.
Sophomore Nadine Kwiecinski said, “To see how well students are learning.” When the state looks at the SAT they see how well you did, how well the schools are teaching you, and to see what you know.
Sophomore Kathryn Powell said, “State testing isn’t really for the students but to create chopping blocks and just make students into easy to understand statistics.”
Colleges look at the sat so that they know how well you do in school and see if you challenge your learning by taking harder classes like AP level classes. Kwiecinski said, “to see how well of a student you are.” Many students have different strengths and weaknesses and colleges may not know that.
Powell said, “They look at that because kids can have a horrible GPA, but understand everything out in front of them so it’s another way for kids to prove their intelligence.”
Many students go against each other to get into a good school, while also competing against people who take AP classes.
Kyeong said, “I think colleges check/analyze the SATs to learn a small portion of what each of their students are capable of. Each student is to see if their next step after high school would be a good fit for them because each school has different compatibility.”
Many colleges look beyond the SAT and also look at your GPA and see how you did throughout high school and not solely one test. There are students who are good test takers, and students who are bad at testing but have a good GPA.
Some schools provide the Psat, which kids may opt out of, just so that they don’t have to take the test. The Psat is a version of the SAT, which students see before they take the actual SAT, the kids that never seen the psat, or opted out of state testing the SAT may look fighting to them.
Powell said, “It forces kids to believe if they don’t do good that they will ruin their lives because they won’t get into a good college and they won’t get a job and it just goes into a downward spiral.”
The pressure of doing well on the SAT and/or the PSAT can be stressful for some kids whereas other kids might not have that problem. Kwiecinski said, “If you do well, then you get into a good college and get a good job.”
Our GPA helps determine if you can get into a certain school as well. Kyeong said, “Absolutely, especially from experience. Although testing is mostly meant for teachers, the students would feel pressure from their parents or self-motivation.”