The Real Problem With the SATs
How test prep corrupted the test
The SATs are (almost) universally hated.
There is something about this multiple-choice test that bothers people. It seems fundamentally wrong to boil down twelve years of English and Math instruction to three hours filling in bubbles.
However, the real problem is not the test itself, but the way students prepare for it.
Take the writing section, for example. Native English speakers are studying for a fill-in-the-blanks quiz by memorizing vocabulary banks and grammar rules. This is precisely why the SAT angers so many people. Why should test-takers need to memorize rules when they have been continuously exposed to the written word since elementary school?
The simple answer: they shouldn’t. Not for any real-life application, and certainly not in order to ace the SATs.
Subjects, predicates, clauses, collective nouns, subject-verb agreement — these are terms one might encounter when learning a second language. In an attempt to help students prepare for the SATs, English has been reduced to its technical elements.
Reading comprehension has similarly been converted to a group of infallible strategies students need to cram in order to maximize their chances at college entrance. But the SAT and tests like it need not be so complicated.
To paraphrase that iconic scene from Good Will Hunting: The training for which rich parents are often paying thousands of dollars can be received for $1.50 in late fees from the public library.
Many professional writers couldn’t tell you what a predicate nominative is, but that wouldn’t stop them from scoring high marks on the SAT. This is because most rules of English grammar become second-nature through consistent practice reading and writing.
This doesn’t mean students should start intensive preparation as early as the ninth grade. It means reading books, magazines, etc. for pleasure throughout one’s schooling.
Instead of having to reduce English to technical rules and cram them in the months leading up to the exam, regularly reading for personal interest builds the skills necessary to both ace the SAT and thrive in secondary/tertiary education.
This approach clearly applies to math as well. The math portion of the SAT tests conceptual understandings that are usually taught in regular high school math. Contrary to popular belief, there are no secret strategies that allow test-takers to score higher. Actually learning the material is the best way to improve.
Sometimes called the myth of the bad test taker, the notion that a student can be a natural low-scorer is completely unfounded. Unlike what is sometimes implied by the media, the SATs test the exact same content as is learned in school. It does not ask questions in a roundabout way, nor does it include red herrings for students to stumble on.
Consider: Any mathematician presented with the math portion of the SAT as a sort of pop quiz, despite not having learned any ‘testing strategies’, could receive a perfect or near-perfect score. While it is possible to improve SAT scores by remembering strategies and reading preparation books, simply studying math can have the same result.
Intensive revision singularly focussed on the SATs is less effective than making affordable, long-term investments in academic success. I suspect this is more or less a known fact amongst elite tutors and even the parents who hire them.
Unfortunately, even if the myth of the bad test taker were universally dispelled, currently test preparation strategies would be unlikely to change. It is in our nature to prefer shortcuts over long-term, incremental improvements. Learning about the test itself instead of its contents will always be tempting to students (and parents) looking for an easy leg-up over the competition.
Instead of the necessary shift in approach to the SAT, wealthy parents will continue to pay for resources and tutoring while poorer students are left behind in the race for top spots and scholarships.
And we’ll continue complaining about the test itself instead of the counter-intuitive way we encourage students to study for it.
