Standardized tests are the best way for colleges to decide on potential students.

Thanks, grape, for answering so quickly and succinctly. Responses to: C1: My opponent's sources do confirm that females with lower SAT scores than males do better in college study than said males, however no margin is offered and I can only hope to assume it is a slight discrepancy. Even if there was a large difference, a trend could still be easily found and colleges could easily adjust their admission policies. For example, a college could know that a male who gets a 2000 on the SAT would do about the same in college as a female with a 1900 or 1950. Just because they are not equal for the two genders (and other ethnicities) does not mean that the scores do not give the university valuable information. C2: I think that $45 dollars is a relatively low amount of money to pay, especially considering the plentitude of benefits it can give. Paying that $45 can earn you scholarships of thousands of dollars. Even paying (I'll make up a value) $70 to take the test if you're from another country, want a score report, etc. is worth it. And while a student's GPA may cost them "nothing", it is a very peculiar measuring device. I have been to two high schools so far and there was a HUGE difference between them. One school considered a 4.0 earning score a 93%. The other required a 95%. In addition, the teachers at the 95% school were much more picky and tougher than in the other school. In the 93% school, a 4.0 was a piece of cake. Now I have to work much, much harder and still have trouble keeping my GPA over 3.8. My whole point is that a GPA is a very subjective measuring device. C3: While it may be to a richer person's benefit in regards to retaking the test, this is not the case with study materials. Many High Schools will give you some sort of free booklet to help you with the test, my school included. Richer kids have an advantage no matter what method you use to measure their aptitude for college study. Richer kids can afford to get help with school through a program such as Sylvan, helping them with their GPA in ways poorer kids can't afford. C4: What is this "effective work" you're talking about? Students taking these tests aren't required to figure out complicated algorithms nor do they need to conduct research or prepare for a presentation. They simply need to show that they understand the concepts they have learned in school and that they can apply them. In the math section, you get a full minute per question, plenty of time to figure out every problem in the test. In response to your point that students taking the SAT don't have time to thoroughly check their work for accuracy, I ask you this: would the results mean anything if they were? In the college and working worlds, the ability to do problems quickly and accurately without double and triple-checking their work is an absolute necessity. I agree that the essay systems are flawed with standardized tests. However, most colleges do not give the essay section a whole lot of credence. The multiple-choice questions are still the best way to quantify the student's ability. C5: Admissions essays take much longer to evaluate, are often exaggerated, and allow more bias. Standardized tests provide a quick non-biased, easily comparable measure of the student's ability. C6: GPA certainly does not reward intelligence and often doesn't involve an overly large amount of work ethic. A student can sluff off and take easy classes to maintain a high GPA. Your statement that colleges compare GPA's within schools is true, but only in a broad sweep. They almost never look at the average grade awarded for a single class or for a single teacher. So if a teacher is unfair and awards no A's, as was your example, this can hurt our student's GPA. While another student could simply not take the classes of that teacher and unfairly get a higher GPA, while taking a class with a less challenging teacher. Sources: http://www.stat.columbia.edu... http://www.k12academics.com... http://www.vahomeschoolers.org...