Mark Stewart Greenstein, who has taught Test Prep for over 30 years, weighs in on the suit against the University of California. Ivy Bound helps hundreds of students each year for college success. Wayward Students Suing UC Students, Community Groups Sue University of California to Drop SAT. WHY the SAT is GOOD for disadvantaged students.
By Educator and Candidate Mark Stewart Greenstein
A strong SAT score is actually a lifeline FOR DISADVANTAGED students. They are often in bad schools, but nevertheless have the smarts, diligence, and test-taking abilities to get a strong SAT score. For disadvantaged students the SAT is thus a lift. to ENTER prestigious universities.
If you are a disadvantaged minority who can’t get into a single UC school, you are not a serious student. You need decent grades an average score on the SAT, about 1100 to be assured admission to UC Riverside or UC Merced.
And firms like Ivy Bound can get you an 1100. No matter where you are starting, give me 18 months, and I will get you to 1100.
Maybe if these students had chosen to seriously study math and English, they would be able to show good SAT scores.
If the students really want to Compel a university to admit poorer students in higher numbers, they should seek to drop the use of personal essays. These are often collaborations, and not solely written by the student. The higher the income the more adult input. Some parents pay over $10,000 to put their kid’s essays into a collaboration with college advisors.
Many universities themselves have questioned whether standardized tests offer any more value than high-school performance in predicting college success. Are they?
If college success is based on the same mushy criteria that we are wading into, then no. “My feelings matter, so I get an A”, from a feelings-sensitive teacher. “And my diversity matters, so now I get an A+”, because the administration is afraid to give any low grade to a victim, defined by one’s race and not circumstance.
The SAT is not a discriminatory test. It’s a STANDARD, that any American is poised to excel at. For some it takes more work than others. But the SAT is coachable. Ask the hundreds of students Ivy Bound coaches each year, from many backgrounds, who improved their scores 100 points or more.
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