It’s not surprising that the SAT and ACT tests, which can play so large a role in shaping high school students’ chances of getting into the colleges of their choice, are subject to a lot of scrutiny.  That scrutiny comes not only from the students themselves and their families, but also from the high school counselors and tutors and others who help students prepare for college.

Some critics of these tests argue that they disadvantage students who are not skillful test takers but who have a great potential to learn.  Advocates of the test, on the other hand argue that SAT and ACT test results do correlate with success in college. Moreover, argues Kathryn Juric, Vice President of the College Board’s SAT Program, “The SAT actually shines a spotlight on the inequities in education by putting every student on equal footing.” 

There is, in any case, a problem with the SAT and SAT tests that has become quite evident over the past decade: some colleges “superscore” the tests, and that encourages students “in the know” to “game the system.”  

One of the major problems with both of these tests isAnd does assessment of the test scores encourage “gaming the system” in a way that unfairly privileges some students over others?

t participate in the support grou seeking to guide studentsoften make the difference between a “gate keepers,” so to speak, of college admissions are the SAT and ACT tests.