Opinion | What the movement to scrap the SAT misses about the reality of high school

The SAT and the other tests violate the 'participation trophy' mentality present in education today.

My brother and I both had the potential to be straight A students in HS, but we lacked the effort.

In 1993, my brother was near the top of his class (#9) with a 3.46. The following year, I was #41 with a 3.53. SUUUUUPER competitive class. We had 5 4.0s out of a graduating class of 117. (With 24 non-graduates. Weird dynamic in my class.) And every one of the 4.0s EARNED it.

Sad to see that today my brother or I would be only slightly ahead of the pack.

I'm not sure what the beef is here. Is it that it blocks so many underachievers? I took the PSATs and SATs as well as all the CLEPs. Learning to take tests IS part of the learning process.

The article says it well: "That value comes in creating an equal measure to judge students whose grades might mean different things in different places. Every high school in this country has its own rigor, as do particular classes and teachers. Standardized tests like the SAT and ACT help level the playing field, particularly in the face of grade inflation."

Unfortunately, with racial bias getting worse and worse at the college admissions level, this is almost a moot point anyways.