bsat blog

When smart high school senior Daniel Morizono recently tore the SAT a new one, he did it not only with style but also with fresh insights into why these tests suck so thoroughly, deeply and fucked-uppedly. First, when you add in all the grunt work before the test starts, the whole inquisition lasts longer than a Grateful Dead concert--over 5 hours. Cruel? Yes. Unusual? Sadly, no.

And how 'bout that essay? A stunted, formulaic parody of the actual process of thinking up fresh ideas and communicating them with enough voltage to make them stick. And then this pathetic artifact is graded by people who could, like, so give a shit. Morizono cites an MIT study that found that bigger handwriting results in a better grade. Test prep teachers, take note (in big block letters).

And speaking of the test prep industry, Morizono contends that learning is one thing, test prep a whole 'nother. "We [students] learn how to write or how to do math, but we don’t learn how to take these tests. That much is left to private test-prep businesses that only the affluent can afford. If public high schools integrated standardized testing into their curriculum, then good schools would be known for producing good exam takers."

The solution? Bag the whole enterprise, as have Middlebury and a few other colleges with half a brain. Or find a test that works. Like, oh, I don't know--the BSAT? A test based on reality. One that doesn't tilt the polo pitch toward assholes whose folks have the scratch for Kaplan or Barrons.