Harbinger the
ISSUE 4 / SHAWNEE MISSION EAST / PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KS
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Oct. 13, 2008
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Universities are realizing that students are
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As low SAT and ACT scores creep into the nightmares of hard-working high school students afraid of being denied college admission, relief comes as a simple solution: ignore the test. According to a recent report from the National Association for College Admission Counseling, the use of standardized test scores as a significant part of the college admission process is unfair to new applicants. The report rebukes the 60 percent of colleges that attribute more importance to test scores than an applicant’s grades in all courses, essay writ-
ing/sample or class rank. It calls for other, more varied alternatives. The report, issued late September this year, was drafted by a commission made up of members associated with colleges such as Harvard, Georgetown and the University of Connecticut. It discusses the standardized test scores used by colleges to determine aptitude of students before admitting them. “[The scores] may not be critical to making good admission decisions at many of the colleges and universities that
use them,” the report said. For colleges in Kansas, legislature has ruled that the state schools must attain one of three criteria. An applicant must have a 2.0-GPA in 14 core classes, rank in the top third of their graduating class, or score a 21 or higher on the ACT, or above a 980 on the SAT. East boasts the best average ACT score in the district, 24.9, a healthy 3 points above the national average.
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