Photo illustration by Raymond Link ’20 | Nate Kerber ’19 shows fear as the overwhelming amount of standardized tests loom over the near future.

By Cooper Parson ’20

THE ROUNDUP

In wake of the recent college scandals, it might be a good time to look at the validity of standardized testing.

Even saying the words “standardized testing” gives some people anxiety.

The ACT and SAT are two standardized tests that cause the most anxiety, especially because of how important they are in deciding what colleges students get into.

Now, with news of celebrities and well-to-do families paying for their children to get into high profile schools with bribes, students wonder if these tests even matter.

One of the discoveries in these news reports found that the graders for these standardized tests were in some cases paid to regrade and falsify the scores.

So, if all you have to do is pay someone, then why are these tests still used to determine who gets into schools?

There hasn’t been nearly enough talk and outrage about how easy it was to cheat the system.

The college board raves about the accuracy of their tests, but how much does that matter if money makes everyone as accurate as they want to be?

The stress that these tests cause is reason enough to throw them out all together. 

Students already deal with overwhelming amounts of stress, worrying about grades and extracurricular activities.

The added stresses of the tests weigh students down to the point of break down.

It seems time to question if the College Board should still be viewed as reputable organization.

If regrading and bribery slipped under the radar, what else has the College Board let slide?

The news is making a big deal of how College’s and families are in the wrong.

But, shouldn’t the fact that a group that administers the test that colleges use to determine student they admit also be held accountable for egregious neglect to monitor the grading process.

The same people that refuse to grade your test if you make an error in bubbling circles, in my opinion, deserve to be held accountable for bribery in grading.

If the group expect students to adhere to strict rules then they should also adhere to strict rules.

Colleges and students should make a push to get more stringent regulations set on the College Board.

They should really push for a breaking down of the importance of standardized test.

Students shouldn’t be looked at as numbers, there is more to a person than their grades and tests. 

Extracurricular activities and personal life should play a larger role in what gets a student into college.

In the end, a school’s goal should be to make a good person who can succeed in the working world.

They shouldn’t just want high numbers that garner the school a reputation for high grades and low acceptance.