ACT=Actual Child Torture

On Mar. 14, 2002, the Sacramento Bee reported that test-related jitters, especially among young students, are so common that the Stanford-9 exam comes with instructions on what to do with a test booklet in case a student vomits on it.

For many students like me, it’s a frightening reality that a poor result on a standardized test could possibly alter the future of my education and career. Doing poorly on the ACT and SAT tests is a common nightmare that all students face, causing large doses of undesired stress. Though standardized testing can be used for comparisons, these widespread forms of testing fail to do one important thing: Treating students like me as individuals.

Around this time of year, seniors are expected to have some sort of ‘rough draft’ regarding their future college plans. I say this in a loving way when I say that my parents are no exception when it comes to nagging me about taking the ACT as many times as I can. Just last week, my parents and I had a heart-to-heart encouraging me to take the December ACT test. After taking this test three times prior, I am heavily against preparing for this migraine-inducing nightmare also known as the ACT. My reasoning behind opposing this brain-cell destroying standardization lies further than just being too lazy to study; the ACT puts too much emphasis on collecting scores and data rather than focusing on individual student achievement.

The concept of being required to pay for a test that is mandatory to be admitted into a higher education is a notion I cannot wrap my brain around. The point of public school is for free education. Fortunately, Millard pays for us to take this test once, but the harsh reality is that many attempts are necessary. Instead of making this test difficult, the ACT should be able to take a more hands on, personalized approach in order to treat students like individuals.

Most students around my age can agree that standardized tests are stressful enough as it is, but the philosophy behind the ACT exam is starting to make me uneasy. These forms of standardization appear to prioritize making a profit over actually presenting efficient and effective ways to evaluate student achievement. According to Robert Schaeffer with FairTest, the ACT is only 3.6% accurate in predicting college academic success.

Whenever I send my money to take the ACT test, I am subconsciously reminded that I am just another paycheck in the eyes of the administrators of this nationwide test; not a respected individual.

Rather than emphasizing a comparison that can dramatically alter your scholarship opportunities, colleges should eventually phase out standardized tests. This way, college scholarships and admission decisions could be determined by more accurate measures of academic success such as GPA, based on the character, and work ethic rather than bubbles on a piece of paper.