Dear College Board and similar organizations,

In junior year, I took the ACT alongside my peers, all of us concentrating on fixing grammatical errors and solving trigonometric identities. After the four hours and 45 minutes of head scratching and pencil sharpening were up, I found myself wondering as to why I decided to put myself through such a draining trial.

I questioned the sheer practicality of standardized tests—why do high school students ritualistically stress themselves out over the acquisition of a series of numbers? How is it possible that humans can design a series of tests that accurately portray someone's intelligence? After pondering this, I reached the following conclusion—standardized tests are simply not effective.

First and foremost, standardized tests do not offer an accurate representation of a student's intelligence. I am an idealistic person—I believe that every person has something they excel in. Whether it be calculus, literature, biochemistry or music, everyone is intelligent in some way or form.

However, standardized tests do not cater to everyone—they are heavily weighted upon math, reading and writing and do not show the full capacity of a student. I understand that these skills are essential in college, but I do not believe that they should be a depiction of intellect.

People are individuals; standardized tests simply rank students along a formulaic scale that measures how well you prepared for the exam itself, not how gifted you are.

Furthermore, standardized tests put students through an ungodly amount of stress as they struggle with the expectations of their parents, society and themselves. I lived through the coffee-filled nights and red-eyed days of balancing classwork, extracurriculars, and test prep.

Every time I opened up the hefty SAT prep book, I was also opening up a mental box filled to the brim with stress. I felt as if I had something to prove, as if anything less than a 2300 would disappoint both my parents and myself. Taking the test was something else too. As the proctor solemnly placed the test booklet before me, my fingers trembled around the pencil in my hand.

Test anxiety like I experienced, caused by expectations and the exaggerated importance of the test, can influence performance and lead to a poorer score. Because of this, I again believe that standardized tests are more about how well the student can cater to the test rather than how much curriculum they have retained.

In my opinion, standardized tests do not hold relevance in our lives once we enter college. To me, these tests simply provide me a number to put upon my college applications.

Ultimately, I'm sure that there are more effective ways to display our individual merits and successes. Although the above is simply my own thoughts, I'm sure I speak for many high school students who also question the value of standardized tests and ask if there isn't an alternative.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Anna Koerner