Standardized tests like the SAT and ACT are not good indicators of university success for several reasons: 1) They reduce students to a single test score number and do not account for external factors or a student's full abilities and potential. 2) Standardized tests mainly measure test-taking ability on one day and do not reflect what students have learned over their academic careers or show their work ethic. 3) Factors like wealth, resources for test preparation help, and living situations can advantage some students and disadvantage others independent of their actual capabilities.

1. Are college entrance exams like the SAT or ACT good indicators of university success?
Introduction
Specific Purpose: The intent of my speech is to persuade my audience that entrance exams such
as the SAT or ACT should not be valued as important determinants in university and success.
Central Idea: Standardized testing is not a good indicator of university success.
I. The importance of self-worth is shown through standardized testing. Evaluation is
given to a number. Students are taught to be individuals and resourceful, creative
thinkers, and then they are labeled as one sole number.
A. “What can a college admissions officer safely predict about the future of a 17-
year-old? Are the best and the brightest students the ones who can check off the
most correct boxes on a multiple-choice exam? Or are there better ways of
measuring ability and promise?” said Joseph A. Soares, who is Professor of
Sociology at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, offering test-optional
admissions.
II. Standardized testing only measures test taking ability based on the performance on
one Saturday morning after sitting for several hours.
A. This does not take into account any external factors, such as personal situations,
or test anxiety.
B. Students often times are intelligent and understand the material, but that is not
reflected on the test.
C. Many students are not great test takers, although they do succeed in an academic
environment.
III. On the SAT, students are penalized for incorrect answers.
A. Students are often times unsure if they should omit a question, or guess.
B. This is inconsistent with what is taught in schools, because students are told to
always guess the best possible answer if they are unsure of a question.
IV. Wealth Gap
A. Wealth often times plays a pertinent role in testing success.
B. Many students who have the resources to do so, hire tutors or take review classes
to prepare them for standardized testing.
C. However, many students with lower incomes are unable to afford such services,
so they simply show up to take a test they do not know much about.
D. Therefore, SATs and ACTs do not consistently reflect abilities, because some
students have advantages over others based on wealth, living situations, or school
districts.
E. Mark Clayton said, “Though the SAT has been around since 1926, it gained its
central place in the admissions process only in the 1960s… But opponents have
complained the test is too biased, too ‘coachable,’ and prone to screening out
lower-income and minority students who cannot afford expensive test
preparation.”
V. Standardized testing evaluates one performance, not one’s work ethic.

2. A. ACTS and SATs fail to account for the growth a student has made throughout the
course of their schooling or their effort.
B. If colleges are test optional, they place more emphasis on student achievements—
such as interviews, extracurricular activities, community service, essays, grade
point average, and recommendations.
C. Only 10 to 20% of the variation in first-year GPA is explained by SAT scores, so
therefore, the relationship between SAT scores and first-year GPA.
VI. Many students experience unnecessary stress as a result of standardized testing.
A. Students with high levels of test anxiety scored 15 points lower on average in
Math and English sections than those with low levels of test anxiety.
http://blog.questia.com/2013/08/standardized-testing-cons-colleges-are-dropping-sat-act/
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/WhosCounting/story?id=98373
http://teaching.about.com/od/assess/a/Standardized-Testing.htm
http://fatherhoodchannel.com/2010/10/28/sat-scores-and-the-impact-of-stress/