SAT’s New Adversity Scores: Could They Help Eastside Students?

As most students know, SAT scores are very important when it comes to gaining acceptance into colleges. That’s why many students spend the majority of their junior year studying for the test. However, the SAT recently announced a major change that might change things for struggling students.

This change involves something that the School Board is calling an Adversity Score, which pretty much functions to add extra points to the SAT scores of certain disadvantaged students. Because the College Board has access to student’s financial background and social disadvantages, they are hoping that this approach will help deserving but disadvantaged students gain acceptance into high-ranking colleges.

Nationwide, students are split on their feelings regarding this change. Studies show that students with limited finances get lower scores on average, even when they are capable of success at the college level. But other students are afraid that students with lower scores will be admitted to prestigious colleges above their higher-scoring peers.

For Eastside sophomore Skylor Pollard, this change feels like a step in the right direction. She thinks it will help students like her.

“The adversity scores are needed since students like me are absent a lot for family and medical reasons,” Skylor says. “Since I live in a single parent household, sometimes I take off days from school to help my mom. I even help after school which doesn’t give me a lot of time to do my work or study for the test.”

Skylor then goes on to add, “Sometimes I’m in pain which means it’s hard to go to school and concentrate on what the teacher is teaching. I am never really catching up or learning what I have been missing, meaning I am constantly struggling with the test.”

For students like Skylor, the SAT’s new Adversity Scores might provide a fuller picture into her potential for college potential. And because many Eastside students struggle with family or financial problems, this change could prove to be a very beneficial thing for our campus.

What do you think? Are you a fan of the SAT’s decision to add Adversity Scores? Let us know in the comments below.