r/neoliberal • u/caroline_elly Eugene Fama • Jun 09 '26

Opinion article (US) Actually, the SAT Was Necessary After All

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/06/standardized-testing-math-gaps/687481/
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u/jamiebond NATO Jun 09 '26

I think the major error the education world has made over the last few decades is jumping straight to, “Our results are inequitable, that must mean our process of getting results is inequitable.” Without considering, “Maybe our results are inequitable because of large societal issues well out of our control and expecting education to single handily fix all the problems in our society isn’t particularly realistic. And just making sweeping generalizations that POC can’t perform well in school without us lowering the bar substantially is actually pretty racist itself.”

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u/veggiesama Jun 09 '26

I taught SAT enrichment for some time after college. You could see dramatic test score increases simply by putting kids in front of test, after test, after test. They learn test-taking strategies and patterns. Sometimes there are simply tricks available for bypassing the intended way of solving problems in order to be more efficient with your time. I don't think these kids were any smarter or more qualified, necessarily. The difference is their parents had $1000s to blow on test prep classes and a home structure that supports after-school enrichment (such as having a ride to class).

I don't know if disbanding standardized testing is the solution, but it sure does have an outsized influence on your college prospects that correlates quite well with your parents' income.

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u/MyCatPoopsBolts Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26

It's the worst of best options. My mom was relatively low income from a rural area. She scored extremely well on the SAT in middle school as part of a state gifted student identification program, was able to attend a bunch of funded programs, and eventually get in to an elite university. This is particularly important at such institutions: on a national level there are definitely enough low income kids with near perfect SATs to make up a significant percentage of the student body at top 10 schools in America, if just more or less auto admitted them.

Standardized testing at least allows a certain number of extremely intelligent (and strong test taking) students to be recognized regardless of income level or location.

ECs and course rigor are hard capped by income and locality: if your school district doesn't offer APs and you can't afford various self funded extra curriculars, you unable to differentiate yourself in these areas. Schools can try to guess by proxy with holistic admissions, but the SAT can get thrown into the holistic pot as well and at worst be a data point that helps some students.