The SAT is like a colonoscopy; it might be extremely irritating, but it’s necessary for your

health. The point of the SAT in its current form is not to hand out sunshine, roses, and A+’s to

those taking it. It’s deceptive and annoying, but in passing this test you prove to colleges that you

have the aptitude necessary to succeed at the next level.

Three main goals of the SAT are to predict students’ first-year college success, measure a

student’s academic ability in a manner that transcends the nation’s inconsistent high school

grading system, and allow students to apply what they have learned in high school to problem-
solving. The results of several surveys have demonstrated that these goals have been consistently

met by the exam in its present form. As the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Nevertheless, the College Board appears ready to toss the current version of the SAT onto the

garbage heap. This decision is foolish and shortsighted.

The types of questions the SAT offers are not designed to test how much raw information you

have memorized in high school, but rather to assess how you can comprehend and utilize your

knowledge. It is quite frankly impossible to memorize every single word that appears on an

SAT Reading section; however by utilizing different test taking techniques, such as process of

elimination and context clues, you can score highly. These strategies can help you throughout

college, indicating your ability to succeed at the next level.

Having to go through five grueling hours of test taking on a Saturday morning after a busy

school week is an experience not for the faint of heart. This feat of both mind and body requires

you to use, in the words of Jack Black’s Dewey Finn character from School of Rock, “You’re

gonna have to use your head, your brain, and your mind, too.” This measure of perseverance

thus enables colleges to sense how you perform under pressure. If you’re shy of the spotlight

and cave in, a low score will reflect this. However, if you’re the David Ortiz of test taking, with

a pencil as your bat and the SAT as the World Series, then you have a stage to demonstrate

your ability. Although it might seem as though the ability to thrive in high stress environments

is something that college’s are not particularly interested, being stress resistant indicates an

ability to succeed in college, an arena with much greater stakes than the high school classroom.

Universities want students that flourish not just in academic settings but also in the world at

large. The SAT provides a vehicle for students to demonstrate high-pressure skills that transcend

the classroom and carry through all aspects of life.

The changes the College Board has proposed to the current SAT structure that will go into place

by 2016 amount to a dumbing down, a lowering of the exam’s content difficulty. This move is

not a wise one, as loss of academic standards in the SAT will not be able to forecast success in

the high stakes atmosphere of college as well as the current model does.