SAT Tests Foster Inequality

SAT Scores Create Inequality for Low-income Students

How Leimert Park and the surrounding community is combatting this inequality.

Students hurry to take their seat after their name is called. Some nervously gnaw the ends of erasers; others tap their pencils to the beat of "William Tell Overture;" most watch the clock tick in anticipation for the scantrons to be distributed. This anxiety is not irrational. For many, this is the difference between admittance or denial from their dream college. This is the SAT.

The SAT test's original design is to evaluate each student’s scholastic abilities in a fair and controlled manner. Despite its best efforts to stand as the most unbiased measure of aptitude, many believe it has not done so effectively. Rather, the SAT has created an arguably larger advantage for high-income students to succeed and low-income students to fail.

USC educational expert, Dr. Rudy Melson, can attest to this statement.

“I do not believe standardized testing is effective,” said Melson. “Put simply, performance should be assessed over spectrum of opportunities with varying mechanisms and metrics as opposed to single instances that do not control for too many unknown variables emanating from the students perspective.”

According to a study conducted by the National Center for Fair and Open Testing in 2015, there is an undeniable correlation between higher test scores and higher household incomes. Students from the most affluent areas, whose average family income was over $200,000 a year, scored on average 300 points higher than students who had an average family income of $20,000.

Liemert Park has an average income of $40,000 a year, making it fall within the lower end of the spectrum, according to the LA Times.

“This affects me, this affects my children. I worry about them,” said Lousia Ramirez, a mother of two from Liemert Park. “I want them to do well in school and on their tests, but we just don’t have the money to get them all that expensive tutoring. That could be the difference for them.”

According to the data from the National Center for Fair and Open Testing and average family income data from the city, students from Leimert Park will score on average between a 1400-1500 out of 2400. To put that in perspective, USC-admitted students score on average a 2075 out of 2400.

“I did take the SAT, I had a test-prep tutor, homework, a textbook, twice-a-week sections, and four practices tests, so it was super intensive, but it was also super expensive and with a private company. I am lucky to come from a great school with lots of access to resources. I think that’s why the SAT is such an ineffective test,” said San Diego native Annie Sager.

“If you are wealthy, then you can have better test prep, and you get better scores on the test versus kids who are really smart, but are maybe living in impoverished areas with really disadvantaged schools. They don’t have access to these resources, which puts them at a greater disadvantage.”

The SAT is comprised of three parts: reading, math, writing and language and an optional essay.

Each part has 40-50 multiple-choice questions with 50-80 minutes to complete the questions.

Emma Arroyo, a tutor for a SAT test prep company for students in the Los Angeles area said, “I think the SAT tests a certain type of intelligence and test-taking ability, not necessarily applicable skills or the abilty to thrive professionally.”

This sentiment is shared among many others. Many accredited universities such as American University in D.C and Arizona Sate University are de-emphasizing the SAT by either offering test-flexible options or opting out of the SAT requirement altogether.

President for Hampshire College, Jonathon Lash, told the Washington Post in an interview regarding the University’s decision to not include the SAT as a requirement for admission, “If we reduce education to the outcomes of a test, the only incentive for schools and students to innovate is in the form of improving test-taking and scores. Our greatly accelerating world needs graduates who are trained to address tough situations with innovation, ingenuity, entrepreneurship and a capacity for mobilizing collaboration and cooperation.

The College Board is working to make changes to the current SAT. Starting in 2016, the format of the test, the allotted time for each portion and the essay will be changed to better accommodate students and level the playing field.

“Non-standardized exams and other mechanisms of mental, emotional, social and spiritual assessments, spread out over time, throughout a semester or year, are far better than a single standardized test that does not account for ecological and/or bio-psycho-social confounders such that may adversely impact instances of testing.”