Does anyone else think that the ACT/SAT is not fair?

Question

My high school GPA was like a 3.8. However when I took my ACT i totally freaked out. I got so nervous during the test that i couldn't even comprehend what I was reading. I am not a good test taker in general, but knowing how important this test was totally made me freak out. After the test I threw up several times because it made me so nervous. I ended up getting a score of 19. I know that I am smarter than a lot of the people who did better than me, but knowing how horrible i did on the ACT has really effected my confidence and I'm starting to wonder if maybe I'm not as smart as I thought i was. I am just really depressed about the whole situation, I don't think that it is necessary anymore for people to have to take the ACT/SAT, I think that if your marks throughout high school have been good than that should be enough.

Answer 1

Don't worry none of these tests are an accurate measure of your intelligence. I came into the SAT thinking that I would ace the English parts, since I was good in English, and bomb the Math part (barely passed Alg 2). I ended up doing horribly on the English part and getting a higher score than my friend who was almost 4.0 across the board and was in Calcalus BC! The questions on these tests have a very loose connection to what you learn in school. The only reason these tests exist are

-so Collegeboard can get money ($43 for PAPER and INK)

-"warm you up" for college (the best way I can say it)

Answer 2

The reason for the tests is so that those who didn't do all that well in highschool have another chance to prove themselves.  Besides which, if a college is looking for the best and brightest, they don't want the person who took all the remedial classes and got A's, they would prefer the person who took AP classes and got C's.  ACT and SAT are a way to even the playing feild, and taking them and doing well enhance your chances at having peers that are at your same performance level, which to me, is very important.

And don't worry about doing poorly, just keep retaking it.  You can even go to colleges and take the residuals.

Answer 3

Yes I'm so glad I don't have to take them where I live. It's not fair that one test can ruin 4 years of work just from one mistake but the people who slack off for 4 years end up ahead of you. Exams cause enough stress, I can't even imagine how stressful that would be.