Standartization of SAT and GRE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Standartization of SAT and GRE - Essay Example The biasness of the universities associating the scores of such examination in admission procedure are also been studied over here. Thesis statement: The SAT and GRE examinations are biased in their scoring pattern and has little effectiveness in determining the performance of the students in colleges due to degradation in its standard. Meritocracy in America and SAT: The importance of SAT cannot be overlooked. SAT has established itself as the primary gatekeepers for the entry in university of America. The admissions system in America became more selective because of the increase in the number of applicants every year and the limited number of seats in American universities. In this environment the importance of SAT cannot be ignored. SAT acts as a mechanism to rank students and allow entry into the universities based on he scores. SAT has been to predict the performance of the students over the years. (Nagasaki, 44) Another important factor which deals with SAT is the benefits asso ciated with it. Sat and Act provides the facilities of scholarships. The scholarship is granted to the students based on their merits. Providing of such scholarships facilitates students from economically weak class to peruse their education. Often it was found that meritorious students would stop pursuing higher education due to financial constraint, but the competitive examinations helped them a lot by the grant of the scholarships (Wadsworth). SAT and Act acts as the guiding factor to a numerous college and universities all over the United States and the admission procedure is claimed to be followed based on the merit of students. (Sebastian) The meritocracy of America is popular over the decades. However in recent times the model of meritocracy has been in question. The globalization of the world and the popularity of the education system of America have turned the education system as a medium for grasping more economic benefits. The universities have also cited social discrimin ation against the students of various races seeking an admission in the universities. The origination of SAT happened in the year 1926 as an effort to enable youths from various parts of the worlds to attend the universities regardless of their social backgrounds. The idea of nationwide scholarship test was framed by James Bryant Conant. (Toch) However in recent times social factors have taken much significance in the admission criteria. The educational inequality has been a striking factor. Often it is found that meritorious students emerging from the lower class in the society are deprived from proper educational facilities and they fail to make an entry to the graduate schools. The African Americans are found to attend less prestigious schools. These inequalities have spread also in the higher education system of the country. Studies reflect that Latin and Americans belonging from the northern parts of the country tend to score lower in their SAT exams in comparison to the Whites . However the difference in SAT scores by them have been claimed to be due to the difference in the level of education they received in their school levels. Whether it is due to the fact of quality of education or due to discrepancy in the SAT scores the effect of the social class on SAT scores cannot be ignored. (Shephard, 347) It is claimed that examinations like SAT and GRE are predictor of family