Standardized Testing: The Difference Between Life and Death

        "In Antigua, people speak of slavery as if it had been a pageant full of large ships sailing on blue water, the large ships filled up with human cargo—their ancestors; they got off, they were forced to work under conditions that were cruel and inhuman, they were beaten, they were murdered, they were sold, their children were taken from them and these separations lasted forever, there were many other bad things, and then suddenly the whole thing came to an end in something called emancipation. Then they speak of emancipation itself as if it had happened just the other day, not over one hundred and fifty years ago. The word “emancipation” is used so frequently, it is as if it, emancipation, were a contemporary occurrence, something everybody was familiar with."
Jamaica Kincaid's A Small Place, Pages 54-55

        In the United States, most colleges treat standardized testing as if it were the difference between life and death, they tend to forget the other things student’s do—there are many; they work for good grades, many play sports and put a lot of effort into the success of the team, they have jobs, they have friends, they have responsibilities at home, they are put under enormous amounts of pressure and given many expectations, there are many other things as well, and then on top of all of those activities there is the stress of doing well on the SATs. Then colleges neglect that not everyone excels in test-taking and may not be able to afford prep classes, this fact does not seem to be accounted for.  The phrase “standardized testing” is used so often in the college application process, it is as if it, standardized testing, measured the character of a person, which is something it clearly does not do.