Such tests are the subject of a growing debate about how accurately they measure the best and brightest students. Some argue that high scores chiefly identify the richest students and help them get into the nation's most selective colleges. Opponents are also skeptical that the standardized tests are written for a select group of elites. The broad range of academic backgrounds is not considered enough in standardized testing. Rather, they help certain students get admitted into the nation's most selective colleges.
Educational institutions have a right to uphold their scholastic standards.
But if they want the criteria of intelligence to remain, colleges must consider other factors besides test scores when recruiting students. Requiring students to write personal essays about their educational goals and achievements would add to knowing someone's scholarship potential. It is only with added information besides statistics that a student's true promise can be determined. A plethora of ongoing legal battles and new proposals in the Legislature reflect the affirmative action laws are in for a major change, if not a complete burial. But if colleges have to continue their mission to provide educational opportunities to a diverse nation of students, the search for a better test criteria is needed.