College application season is underway yet again, and many high school students feel anxious that one little number could mean the difference between acceptance and rejection. In order to attain these high scores, many students turn to outside test preparation programs. The following are student responses to the question of whether or not EA should offer standardized test prep courses in its curriculum.
Affirmative: Caroline Vander ‘20
EA should offer standardized test prep courses to help students achieve high test scores, without the drawbacks of expensive and time-consuming off-campus programs.
Students are constantly busy, whether they’re playing sports, acting in the play, or even just doing homework for their many classes. Adding standardized test prep into the mix only makes life more hectic. Dominic Minicozzi ‘20 describers his personal experience, “[Off-campus prep was] a little bit of a drag on my Thursday nights because I didn’t get home until 10:30 or 11:00.” If preparing for the SAT or ACT could be fit into a student’s class schedule, as a semester class or in a different form, the workload would be a little lighter. Students could learn skills crucial for a high SAT or ACT score without spending evenings and weekends at test prep centers and returning home to all of their homework.
In addition to being a large time commitment, test prep is expensive. Families might spend thousands of dollars for their child to cross an arbitrary threshold of what constitutes an “acceptable” SAT score, and though many EA students live in a household where that expense is relatively insignificant compared to overall income, other students do not have that luxury. Michael Letts, Head of Upper School, says, “Some of our families are able to provide and afford standardized test prep and some of our families aren’t. If we bring [standardized test prep] in house, we can alleviate the cost and make it more accessible to families who otherwise wouldn’t have access to it. For me that’s the biggest reason why we should consider it. We [as a school] have started to think about it.“
For all students, offering free standardized test prep in a familiar environment would be an invaluable resource. Families are already paying a substantial tuition for EA , a “college prep school,” and standardized testing is a requirement in many college admissions processes. It would make sense for EA to help students prepare for a test that constitutes a significant aspect of their college applications, especially when EA families are already paying a large sum to prepare their children for college and the admissions process. Letts adds, “It’s a huge expense no matter a family’s needs. Families shouldn’t have to pay for that. We should be providing [standardized test prep].”
Every year it seems there are more and more hoops to jump through in order for a student to build a perfect application, and standardized testing is one of the biggest hoops of all. EA owes its students prep courses to help make the test game a bit easier. Letts says, “Students have to play this game. In order to help students perform at their best level and give them all the things they need to put themselves in the best position, we should be bringing [standardized test prep] in house and providing students with equitable opportunity.”
Negative: Lauren Bassett ‘20
EA should not offer standardized testing prep courses to students. Not only is it an unnecessary burden, offering standardized test prep courses would overemphasize the importance of testing in school. Learning is not about standardized testing. Learning is about mastering skills and gathering information that students can apply to their lives in the future. Erin Boyle ‘20 believes EA “should not offer standardized testing courses because [EA isn’t] geared towards standardized testing. We’re not going to school to learn about SATs and ACTs. We’re here to learn about things that are applicable later in life.” Maiah Islam ‘21 adds, “I wouldn’t want test prep to infiltrate my EA schedule. I’d rather fill my schedule with interesting classes that I wouldn’t have access to outside of school.”
Standardized testing boils students down to simple numbers, disregarding accomplishments in athletics and arts. EA offering standardized test prep would increase the pressure on students to perform well on these tests over actual aspects of a well-rounded life.
Since standardized tests are content focused, it would be hard to prepare students who are performing at a wide range of scores at the same time. Erica Feehery ‘21 says, “Standardized test prep is such a personal experience. It would be hard for a course to cater to each student’s needs if they are all at different levels in their preparation.”
Unfortunately, scores on standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT are still important in the current college admissions process. However, by teaching classes in geometry, algebra, and English, EA already provides the content-related tools needed for such tests. Anjali Bose ‘20 affirms this: “I definitely think that EA students are prepared enough to do well on the content for the SAT.”
There’s no denying that test prep can help students manage the SAT and ACT. However, EA already does its part by teaching the necessary material to its students, as well as offering in-school opportunities to practice testing through the PSAT 8/9 and PSAT/NMSQT. Offering courses on standardized tests would only add stress and pressure to students’ lives, emphasizing testing over other academic, athletic, and artistic skills that truly reflect a student’s personality.