SAT nightmare...

[mrbiggs]

Originally Posted by fixxmyweapon

yes, it does level the playing field in a sense for everyone as it presents the same information for anyone who takes it but the issue with standardized testing is that teachers will teach to the test. the SAT is a different story since it is not required but end of grade testing and such is lame because some teachers don't even have the resources to teach the material that is required in their curriculum and even if they do, they have so much material to teach in a small amount of time that if a child does not understand the presented material during the time its taught, too bad.

i still disagree with standardized testing such as the SAT as an admittance exam because i do not think it properly measures one's knowledge supposedly learned through out middle and high school. there are some students who just flat out do not test well. the SAT is more like an endurance test for your mind. by the time you reach the end of it, your brain is fried.
but, thats just my take on such things.

It is VERY difficult to teach to the SAT. I'm actually against most standardized testing, for the reasons you described, but I'm for the SAT. If teachers don't teach the cirriculum, the student does get screwed, but it's an accurate representation for college, where a badly taught student will also struggle.

College is also an endurance test for your mind.

[fixxmyweapon]

Originally Posted by mrbiggs

It is VERY difficult to teach to the SAT. I'm actually against most standardized testing, for the reasons you described, but I'm for the SAT. If teachers don't teach the cirriculum, the student does get screwed, but it's an accurate representation for college, where a badly taught student will also struggle.

College is also an endurance test for your mind.

Students get screwed over anyway in the education system we have now in our public schools. Depending on what part of the country you are in you could have overworked teachers, overcrowded classrooms, not enough or proper materials to learn what is supposed to be taught and on and on. Also, depending on where you are in your education, how advanced and behind, you may not have even coverd the material that will be on the SAT. Teachers are not required to teach to the SAT, it is something the student can review and check out on their own.
The SAT is a lame test because it does not efficiantly measure your knowledge like it is ment to do.
College is only a mind endurance test during finals week.

[lochinvar]

Originally Posted by fixxmyweapon

The SAT is a lame test because it does not efficiantly measure your knowledge like it is ment to do.

This is incorrect. The SAT is not supposed to measure your knowledge base; that is the purpose of the AP tests.

The SAT is exactly what its name suggests--an aptitude test. It is, frankly, to test how well you test--the very thing which it is vilified for doing. It is supposed to be an indirect measure of how well you will be able to perform in an academic environment, not how much you already know. It has to include some knowledge content, since otherwise there's no criteria for aptitude, but that's not it's primary focus.

Is this how it's used? Probably not. But that's how it is intended to be used. For a concientious institution, it will only be one factor in many evaluated for admission.

And as for "teaching to the test", I have no problem with that if the test measures that knowledge which we, as a society, deem it important for people to know.

[melihop]

i had the best dream last night! i got for the SATs and they decided to change the test format last night.. and the new one was all on like practical life skills.... balencing a checkbook.... changing diapers.... the frsit test was like iron chef... lol.. i failed that one baecuse i refused to use shrimp...

cooking... checkbook.... changing diapers.. fixing a plow with ducttape... grocery shopping for a low price.. lol... there were a few others.. i just don't remember them right now....

[JackSparrow]

Originally Posted by mrbiggs

But if there was any single test that would most affect the rest of your life, this is it.

I'd have to say that in my case, passing my driving test had more of a direct impact on my life than any academic exam. As a graphic designer, if I'm applying for a job, it all rests on showing them my work. Nobody ever asks what kind of degree I got, let alone anything before that. Just do your best with those exams. Beyond that, there's nothing else you can do. Good luck!

[Westley]

Hey, I was decent on my SAT's. ME!!!! And it doesn't matter too much as long as you go to a community college first. Like Me! And then you can step up to a University.

[KShan5[PrFC]]

I remember during my SAT II math-2 Test it took an hour. WHen they said, you have 20 minutes left, I realized I had finished, so i napped for 20 minutes. The SAT Is are just as easy though. Just relax, I've never been one to have test anxiety though. Probably because I test well.

[mrbiggs]

I took them.

It lasted from 8-1. That's a LONG TIME.

PSATs were a lot easier. 5 hours is a LONG time.

[rmyounis]

Originally Posted by mrbiggs

Because my SAT scores are far better than my grades or extra curricular activities.

It was for me, too - my grades were barely enough to let me graduate and I had zero extracurricular activities, but I had a good SAT score, so I managed to get into college anyways

Just remember three things about the SAT:
1) It's held ridiculously early in the morning, so get some sleep and no drinking the night before (trust me on this )
2) It doesn't test how bright you are, it tests how well you can cater your answers to what they want to hear
3) It doesn't determine the course of the rest of your life, so relax

[lochinvar]

Originally Posted by mrbiggs

Because my SAT scores are far better than my grades or extra curricular activities.

Interestingly enough, my brother did very poorly in high school; he aced those subjects that interested him, but didn't bother to study those subjects that didn't interest him and so subsequently flunked them.

He did so poorly, in fact, that he didn't even bother to apply to university. Instead, he joined up for a six-year hitch in the Navy on the theory that, after that long, nobody would bother to look at his high school GPA or class standing.

Seems he was right--after leaving the service, he was accepted to Yale strictly on the basis of his test scores and essay.

So you just never know...

[Soldier]

Originally Posted by rmyounis

It was for me, too - my grades were barely enough to let me graduate and I had zero extracurricular activities, but I had a good SAT score, so I managed to get into college anyways

Just remember three things about the SAT:
1) It's held ridiculously early in the morning, so get some sleep and no drinking the night before (trust me on this )
2) It doesn't test how bright you are, it tests how well you can cater your answers to what they want to hear
3) It doesn't determine the course of the rest of your life, so relax

An interesting strategy I've heard for taking timed tests: Drink a lot of water beforehand. Needing to use the bathroom then gives you that extra sense of urgency right from the start, helps you keep moving.