Hacker News Reader

Comment by dublinben | Hacker News Reader

I'd rather see college admissions continue to move away from standardized testing monopolies (like the SAT) than for education innovators like Khan to get in bed with the incumbents. Free SAT prep is good; a college application that doesn't ask for expensive tests is even better.

View on HN

What would you suggest? Imperfect sure, but the SAT and ACT are a standard measure of student's abilities. Not a popular opinion but I believe the SAT and ACT are invaluable and I'm fine with tests that measure reasoning ability, text comprehension, and writing skills as a basis for who can attend different calibres of universities.

Hundreds of schools have made standardized tests optional.

http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional

>Indeed, students' grades and the academic rigor of their courses weighs more heavily in college admissions decision than standardized test scores, class rank or professed interest in a particular school, according to the National Association for College Admission Counseling's 2013 "State of College Admission" report released in January.

You didn't actually suggest anything. And while many schools do not require these tests for admission, most require them for scholarship consideration.

Another example is BYU which officially at states that gpa, act/sat and extra-curriculars each way 1/3 in the admissions process but an admissions officer confided that "it basically comes down to ACT scores."

Reply on news.ycombinator.com