ACT rewards speed over actual knowledge in building standardized prison

As spring time waits just around the corner, the infamous ACT and other standardized tests return from hibernation to haunt students once again. These colossal exams test students on years worth of material in their core subjects in a daunting race against the clock. In fact, three out of the four sections of the ACT exam require students to answer each question in under a minute to finish on time. Pressure like this is enough to make juniors appreciate previous tests that had allowed them a whole class period to complete, something that feels like a luxury in comparison to the ACT.

Considering the constraints that accompany these exams, it can be reasonably inferred that such tests are mere assessments of speed, opposed to genuine knowledge of the topic. Realistically, when students study for the ACT, how can they efficiently prepare? Studying for a test like this primarily involves students taking timed practice tests in hopes of improving their quickness each time. Yes, it still is direly important to study the material to a point of understanding, though it always comes back to how fast students can then recall that material. A vicious cycle of studying, comprehending the material, then testing how swiftly we could solve a problem by regurgitating that knowledge. 

Practice tests like these encourage students to avert their focus away from fully comprehending these subjects, but rather just create shortcuts in problem solving and deem speed as a far more important quality. Quality time spent to produce ideal work is now a thing of the past, as ‘hacks’ and shortcuts creep into every aspect of our lives.

With the half-hearted nature of this test, our scores truly can’t define our knowledge of these subjects. We’re forced to derive intense short cuts and re-familiarize ourselves with distantly remembered topics just well enough to answer a few questions on them. Both of which are poor reflections of what is actually done in the classroom, where the real student version of us is present. The heart of the ACT exam is testing the agility of our fluid intelligence, which is certainly not the best representation of a still developing high school student. 

Growing up, weren’t we all taught to ‘take our time,’ and to ‘slow down’ if we wanted to create quality work? Well in the eyes of the ACT, that philosophy is nonexistent. In order to receive a promising score, we’re encouraged to work quickly and not spend excessive time on each question; it’s ironic, really. Reading prompts carefully and reviewing our work is now thought of as foolish and inefficient if students have any hope to finish their exam on time. Considering its polarity, this toxic idea is sure to cause students to re-evaluate their educational values and what they previously thought was the key to success. 

To add to its egregiousness, the scoring system of this test is a whole other story. This score is shown to our desired colleges and serves as another defining factor of our intelligence. If anything were to define our academic knowledge as much as this does, it certainly would not be how fast we could solve a math problem. It is utterly outrageous that students’ capabilities are characterized by their speedy test taking abilities. Although students aren’t necessarily scored on recorded time per question, the exam is still designed to give students inadequate time to solve problems, bringing the time factor in all over again. It seems safe to say that teenagers famously don’t do well under pressure especially when there is so much riding on their score. ACT scores truly have so much more meaning and definition behind them than one may think. 

All universities come with their own set of requirements for their applicants, one of which being a score range for the ACT. It has already been made aware that the preparation, the test itself, and the scoring can be downright unfair to students. However, the definition this score holds can sometimes be the most sour sting of it all. We’re tested on material we haven’t used in years and unreasonably timed on our recollection, so this truly begs the question of why this is the test score that colleges see and not the hundreds of other tests we take in high school that give an actual reflection of us as a student? The significance of the ACT exam can forever be argued back and forth but its extremities cannot.

By Morgan Reitz

March 18 2022

Volume 118 Issue VI