After happily and willingly leaving the realm of the SAT, here I am studying for the GRE, the Graduate Record Examinations. For those of you who don’t know what the GRE is, it’s basically the SAT for graduate school.
The nostalgia that accompanies studying for GRE is not a pleasant one. It reminded me of all those courses and classes I took for the SAT, the countless hours spent suffering and laboring through practice tests, and the money that went into the SAT – classes, books, registration, and more.
I was privileged enough that my family could afford sending me to those classes, to get that private tutor that helped me through the SAT. They were so fixated on the notion that a high SAT score could get me into my dream school. After I was deferred from early decision, they pushed me to take the SAT again to raise my score in the hopes that it would get me in my dream school. I refused. I was done with the SAT. I knew I could not do any better or go any higher. I was not a good standardized test taker. I know I got lucky on my last SAT since I knew all the words. My mind was made. No, I would not take it again. They said I was making a “mistake.”
In my opinion, the SAT unfairly favors those who have the means to afford it and those who are naturally apt for standardized testing. Lacking natural ability in standardized testing, I would have not achieved what I did if my family did not have the capability to send me to those prep classes. I do not believe it is a fair measure of one’s knowledge, ability, and intellectual aptitude.
Fast forward to over two years later, my SAT score does not matter. No one talks about the SAT in college anymore and it is irrelevant. But now, I’m inevitably worrying over the GRE. Why do graduate schools require this test? Why can’t my accomplishments in college speak for themselves? My college transcript should suffice in terms of portraying my intellectual capacity, and my long list of activities and outside the classroom engagements should account for something. I have not taken a math class in two years because my major doesn’t call for it, but now I’m forced into relearning trigonometry and algebra to do well on the GRE. Why am I wasting time learning math I will probably never use ever again? No, I will not need to know how many combinations of dinners Suzy can make. How does knowing the definitions to all these words I will never use in a daily conversation prepare me for graduate school, or the real world for that matter?
The standardized tests companies are profit-hungry, money-making businesses that should not exist. Because of standardized tests such as the SAT and GRE, multiple parties also seize the opportunity to open test preps, draining money from affluent families of eager and prospective college students.
Because of the cost, we are just perpetuating the cycle. Poorer, low income students who cannot afford test prep or materials are unable to achieve the necessary scores. This means they either do not attend college or go to lower ranked colleges, making it harder to obtain jobs. This maintains problems of unemployment, poverty, and more. Only the truly exceptional and intelligent few of these communities will be able to break the cycle. How do we expect education rates to increase among populations of lower socio-economic standing if the gateway ticket to higher education rests on money?
A reform to our education system is called for, and a great place to start would be these standardized tests. This would open up more opportunities for everyone to have a fairer chance at school. Life is also not a series of multiple choice bubbles or a number. So why do we need this for entrance into life?
