Elimination of SAT proposed at lecture

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    By Andrea Christensen

    Is it time for students to cheer and praise the downfall of standardized tests? Not quite.

    As the University of California system works to eliminate the use of the SAT I exam as a criterion for university admission, BYU officials will continue to use the ACT as a primary measure for judging its applicants, deeming it a beneficial tool for assessing student knowledge.

    At a lecture in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Feb. 18, University of California President Richard Atkinson proposed removing the SAT I from admission requirements, decrying its “undue influence” in determining acceptance to the university.

    “Anyone involved in education should be concerned about how overemphasis on the SAT is distorting educational priorities and practices, how the test is perceived by many as unfair and how it can have a devastating impact on the self-esteem and aspirations of young students,” Atkinson said in his lecture.

    Despite criticism of the SAT and of standardized testing in general, however, the ACT exam remains a major tool employed in determining acceptance to BYU.

    Jeff Tanner, BYU associate dean of Admissions and Records, attributes this to the fact that the ACT tests what students learn in their high school core-curriculum better and more fairly than does the SAT.

    “The ACT provides another incentive for students to take more college preparatory classes in high school because it is a curriculum-based test,” he said.

    BYU admissions officials have been using the test to determine university acceptance for more than 30 years, Tanner said, and students” scores currently count for 25 percent of their admission criteria.

    “Every year we (university officials) discuss what we”re doing, but in our experience, the benefits of using the test scores in combination with high school transcripts always outweigh using high school transcripts alone,” he said.

    Jennifer Hainsworth, 18, a freshman from Tucson, Ariz., majoring in audiology and speech-language pathology, said she thinks the ACT is a necessary tool for determining admission.

    “They have a very high academic standard here, so I think it”s fair that they use it,” she said. “They have to draw the line somewhere.”

    David Hubbard, 21, a sophomore from West Jordan, Utah, majoring in electrical engineering, agreed.

    “A college has to have some kind of conformity,” he said.

    Atkinson, although discouraging the use of the SAT I, said in Sunday”s lecture that he is still in favor of standardized testing.

    “Developed properly and used responsibly, standardized tests can help students gauge their progress and help the general public assess the effectiveness of schools,” he said.

    Atkinson further outlined his proposed admissions reforms, which include removing the SAT I from admission requirements and calling for the creation of standardized tests “that are directly tied to the college preparatory courses required of students.”

    “Many universities … have adopted practices that give too much weight to the SAT. … This use of the SAT is not compatible with the American view on how merit should be defined and opportunities distributed,” he said.

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