Wednesday, March 17, 2010 By Elizabeth Cabadas
There are three letters that strike universal anxiety among high school students. S-A-T.
The infamous SAT, formally an acronym for Scholastic Aptitude Test, was developed in the early 1900s to give colleges an idea of how well students would perform in college. Then the SAT Subject Tests (SAT II), which test your knowledge on specific subjects, was added into the mix.
Now, over 800 colleges no longer require the SAT and the University of California public university system has decided they will join this movement starting with the students who will apply for the fall term of 2012.
The idea of eliminating SAT tests has been circulating through college channels for years. Time magazine’s online article “Is This The End For The SAT,” by Andrew Goldstein published Feb. 26, 2001, stated that Richard Atkinson, a testing expert, cognitive psychologist and formal president of the University of California would “recommended that the University of California… no longer use the SAT in its admissions process” because “America’s overemphasis on the SAT is compromising our educational system.”
“I anticipate many of the students will still be taking it. From the students end, I can see how if they are applying to a UC, they might feel at a disadvantage [because other students will be taking it]. I look at it as a symbolic gesture because it says they [University of California colleges] look at the complete student,” said Advanced Placement (AP) Literature teacher and part-time freshmen application reader (for the University of California, Los