All high school students are familiar with the grueling task of taking the SAT during Junior and Senior year. Many of us take preparation classes in the summer but find it difficult to continue studying by ourselves during the gap of time between the break and the test. It’s not uncommon to wish the SAT could be administered in the summer, too, so that the information is fresh.
Finally, come August, students will be getting what they’ve hoped for—however, only a select few will get to enjoy the benefit. Last week the College Board announced that they will be offering a summer administration of the SAT for the price of $4,500 and the purchase of a summer course at Amherst College. The College Board has explained that this will allow them to “work through any potential operational challenges.”
University Prep is funded by the National Society for the Gifted and Talented and will include long hours of test preparation and tours of the college campus. The issue with this is it widens the gap between privileged and disadvantaged students. How will selecting a handful of wealthy kids allow the company to work through challenges?
Furthermore, this will only increase the already competitive spirit among high school students. Many students feel that they’re in a race against their peers and battle with confidence issues specifically because of the test.
Knowing that there are certain students who will receive more opportunities merely because of their ability to fork over money will be even more disconcerting.
The College Board will give these students yet another advantage by labeling them as June tests so the scores cannot be discounted by colleges. According to the Washington Post, “A request to the College Board (to cancel the special August SAT) was sent by educational consultant Elizabeth A. Stone and Robert A. Schaeffer, public education director of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, known as FairTest.”
The SAT was originally meant to be a democratizing exam to increase the fairness of college admissions, but in the past few years it has taken a turn for the worst. All it seems to do now is breed competition, distress bad test-takers, and stress out even the most intelligent students. Unfair advantages like this one can only add insult to injury.