One Thing I Like About the SAT

Picking on the SAT is practically a national pastime. It’s relatively easy to list reasons why the SAT is a force for educational evil rather than good, and it’s true, the test has problems. As a tutor, I’ve developed a variety of misgivings about both the test itself and the way that the test is used. But, there are some positive aspects to the SAT, too.

It’s hard to find a polite way for me to discuss the one thing that I like best about the SAT. So allow me to be blunt: it’s very hard to cheat on it.

I’m not sure how common cheating is in college admissions, but I’m certain that it exists. As a tutor, I’ve heard too many stories about wealthy families who use large monetary donations to lubricate their child’s way towards achieving good grades at one private school or another. I’ve seen parents labor over their child’s homework. I’ve had individuals apply to work for me who touted how successful they were at “ghostwriting” college applications. (Please note: Those applicants did NOT get hired. I don’t like cheating.) All of these activities can make a student’s college application look significantly stronger than it ought to, and there isn’t necessarily any way for the admissions officers to see through the subterfuge.

The SAT is different. True, going to an excellent school and getting lots of high-quality tutoring can greatly improve a student’s chance of getting a high score. And, sadly, the academic playing field is not even close to being fair. But, nevertheless, when a high schooler goes to take the SAT, he or she alone answers the questions. Test taking tips and tricks can only get a person so far- in order to get a good score, you still have to know vocabulary words, you still have to understand rules of grammar and certain mathematical principles. There’s just no way around it.

So that’s one thing I like about the SAT.