Opinions
The Tower
THE BENEFITS OF FEWER TESTS
The SAT
Tamar Assayag, CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The SAT has been causing high schoolers stress since it was first administered
almost 100 years ago, in 1926. The exam seems fair on paper. Students take the
test and the highest scores look better in the eyes of college admissions officers.
Currently, the most selective colleges in the U.S., including our local Princeton
University, either require or prefer students to have an SAT (or, alternatively,
an ACT) score on their applications. However, the SAT is anything but fair: it
is a test which systemically promotes classism and elitism.
Over the past few years, especially with the pandemic, many colleges
have removed the SAT as a requirement on applications. However, most of
these test-optional schools still give a leg up to applicants with high scores,
so students still feel the need to take the test and do well. The SAT is not fit
as a measure of students’ academic merit, and should become and remain
optional on all college applications.
The SAT is a deeply prejudiced exam. In order to do well on the test, many
students start preparing months, or even years, in advance. They attend SAT
study groups, pay for private tutors, order thick textbooks, and study whenever
possible. This is not the reality for everyone, especially for students from lowincome households. For such students, paying for college is difficult as is, so
acquiring extra SAT prep is often impossible. Some students also have a parttime job to help support their families, so adding SAT studying to the work they
do for existing classes is not feasible. A 2014 article by The Washington Post
found that students with household
incomes of above $200,000 had an
average combined reading, math,
and writing score hundreds of points
above students with household
incomes of below $20,000. This very
clearly demonstrates the advantage
of wealthier families. Moreover, a
2021 University of Pennsylvania
analysis found that the correlation
between SAT scores and household
income is three times as large as that
between GPA and income.
The test is exceptional at weeding
out those that are economically
disadvantaged. When income is a
factor, so is race. People of color
(especially Black, Latinx, and Native
Americans) experience higher rates
of poverty than white Americans
do. When colleges require or
recommend for SAT scores to be
present on applications, they are
further promoting this classist and
racist history of injustice.
Not every person’s brain works the
same way. For instance, there are
those that are more artistic, those
that lean more towards mechanics
or mathematics, and those that are drawn to so many other fields in between
and outside of those categories. There are those that are stellar test takers
and simply have a knack for standardized testing, and there are also those
that aren’t, but that doesn’t make them any less intelligent or less deserving
of attending a great college. Some people’s brains just aren’t well equipped
for these types of tests: people with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder), autism, dyspraxia, and dyslexia struggle on the SAT more than
those without those disorders. Requiring these students to sit down for hours
completing dozens, if not hundreds, of multiple choice questions with barely
any breaks in between is impractical. In the neurodiverse world that we live
in, the SAT, which suits only those that are neurotypical, is out of place. It
is unfair for colleges to require students to submit their SAT scores on their
applications because people function differently — not everyone happens to
fit into that compressed box of high-scoring, “normal” students.
As it turns out, College Board has attempted to address this issue of fairness
with its accommodations system, where students with disorders receive the
bare minimum of extra time to complete their exams. Yes, this is a step in the
right direction, but if the SAT is willing to accommodate (albeit insufficiently)
neurological differences among students, why doesn’t it also accommodate
socio-economic differences? This is the fundamental flaw with standardized
testing: fairness is only achieved when you make the test less standard. It's
impossible to make a test that fairly asseses every single high school student,
because every high school student is different.
The SAT doesn’t define who we are as people, but all around us, people use
it as a bar for comparison and competition. Standardized tests often provide
students with unnecessary anxiety, and individuals’ scores are often dependent
on socio-economic status and whether or not one is neurodivergent. These
exams are clearly a very poor representation of one’s intelligence; yet they are
still one of the largest contributing factors in determining students’ future
academic success. It is unquestionable that colleges should keep the SAT
completely optional on applications in order for everyone to experience a
more fair academic environment.
5
The APs
Jane Bennett, CONTRIBUTING WRITER
According to U.S. News, 76 percent of Princeton High School students
take at least one AP during their time at PHS. PHS’s broad assortment of AP
classes allows students to pursue any subject that they are passionate about at
a high level. Unfortunately, the accessibility and diversity of these classes has
resulted in a race between students to take as many AP classes as possible.
Students who take time-consuming AP courses must balance a college level
workload with sleep, extracurricular activities, and a normal teenage life. If
PHS limited the number of APs each student can take per year to three, it
would help limit stress, support students’ mental health, and increase time
for other activities which could prepare them for college and continued
education.
The University of Wisconsin Press found that students taking AP classes have
increased stress levels and lower grades due to pressure and rigor. AP classes
require students to make time for at least an hour and a half of homework each
night which consists of practice problems, essays, and consistent studying for
the AP exam. Being an AP U.S. History student, I know firsthand how rigorous
an AP course can be. Whether it be submitting three page-long essays at 11:59
p.m., or reading through entire review books in the weeks before the exam,
the AP U.S. History course pushes students to their absolute limit – and that’s
just one AP. When students move on to their junior and senior years, they
feel pressured by their teachers, guardians, and peers to participate in more
advanced, competitive classes and end
up balancing sometimes more than four
APs at once.
Moreover, colleges aren’t just looking
for students with good grades: They
also want students who are passionate,
outgoing, and able to carve out their
own path in life. Extracurriculars,
especially ones that demonstrate
students’ leadership and dedication,
are incredibly attractive to colleges. For
example, a student who is the leader
of a section in band organizes practice
sessions and inspires sectionmates to
work harder, and thus can use that on
their application as an example of their
leadership abilities. However, when
students are weighed down by several AP
courses, they have less time to focus on
their extracurriculars — time which is
required for students to obtain leadership
positions in the first place. A leadership
role in a club or extracurricular can
be much more valuable to admissions
officers than an AP class. This is a fact
that students may have a hard time
believing when everyone around them
graphic: Wenya Huan
is loading themselves up with APs.
There are also students who are aware
of the value of leadership positions in extracurriculars, but are intimidated
by the responsibility which comes with those positions. Putting a limit on
APs may push students to step out of their comfort zone and take on roles of
responsibility. Extracurriculars are thus also incredibly valuable in helping
students grow as people. Also, AP courses are inequitable: Those with the
money and resources to spend on tutoring and review books are at a huge
advantage. However, anyone can become a leader in an extracurricular or
their own club — as long as they have the work ethic and willpower to do it.
If PHS wants to prepare students to get into college, it should limit students
to three APs a year.
Of course, AP classes are still an incredible resource that Princeton students
are privileged to have at their disposal. Students can pursue their interests
at a college level and delve deep into the nuance and quirk of their desired
field. When students choose to take time-consuming APs that don’t align at
all with their interests, however, such as a STEM-inclined student taking AP
French and AP English, that only takes away from students’ ability to fully
take advantage of the AP classes that they are truly interested in. Without the
burden of five AP classes, students can pursue those interests out of school as
well. A club or extracurricular can actually be better at increasing students’
interest in a subject than an AP class. In a club, students are exposed to people
who are truly passionate about the subject (they aren’t there just because it’s
an AP), and plan their own events and activities, contrasting with the rigidity
of many AP classes.
AP season is finally here, the culmination of all of PHS students’ hard work
and suffering over the past few months, and students all know what that
means: one last bout of all-nighters and mental breakdowns. But maybe all
of this can change. Though the PHS student body cannot easily make any
executive decisions regarding a limit on AP classes, it is important that PHS
faculty and administration recognize the predicament which students face.
PHS students feel the need to compete with their peers by loading up their
schedules with APs, and as long as there is no limit on this behavior, they will
continue to be limited in their potential, and utterly stressed.