Analytical Hypertext Topic - Talbot Clarke

I am going to write my analytical hypertext about the SAT’s. I resign from the SAT’s because they are an unfair way of evaluating a student. Everyone knows that the SAT’s are a game. The most unsuccessful students in high school could go to the SAT’s and get a great score while the smartest most hardworking students could receive a sub par score. But really, as I have learned, the key to success in the game of the SAT’s is the preparation. There are tricks to the test, tricks that must be learned to master it. Those students who went through hours and hours of tutoring, at $100 dollars an hour are truly the ones that win the game; they, for the most part, come out with the best scores. So really, is it a test of knowledge, or is it a test of financial status. I know that for me, my family could not put me through hours on end of tutoring. I went to 3 sessions of math tutoring and 3 sessions of English tutoring before taking my second SAT. My scores in each area both increased. If my parents had thousands of more dollars to devote to my SAT preparation, maybe my SAT scores would be up to par.

While I do argue that the SAT’s are a better measure of financial status rather than true intellectual capacity and work ethic, I do see their benefit. They are the way that High School Students can be compared on the same level for College Admissions staff. Rather than having to compare GPA’s from thousands of high schools: some have honors scaling, some go to 4.5, and some schools are just plain harder than others. College Admissions staff needs a way to put everyone on the same level, and that is where the SAT’s come in.

However, some schools such as Wake Forest University have completely eliminated the SAT’s. They believe, like me, that people of higher financial status, are most successful on the SAT’s. They have however, found a way to successfully compare students intellectual capacity without this great generalizer. Whether it may be hiring more admissions staff or making more lengthy applications, the college application can live on with the absence of the dreaded SAT’s.