The ACT should be outlawed (persuasive) (part 2)

Part one ended in the topic of stress with students preparing for the ACT. The next reason the ACT should be outlawed is because of the validity of the content from the ACT. Before going into this topic we have to know what the ACC is testing for. According to the ACT website, the test is testing students aptitude for success in college. But can the ACT accurately read a students potential based on content they haven’t learned? The quick answer is no, a students potential isn’t based on a test score but on how hard they are willing to work. The ACT isn’t based on a schools curriculum. It relies on what other standardized tests like the SAT, put on their tests. This is creating a flaw in the entire system because of content on the test never being taught to students. Content validity can also be linked to how questions are worded. If you have ever taken the ACT then its a known fact to you that their questions are trying to trick you. This isn’t an accident, in some cases multiple answers from certain questions could be considered correct.

The ACT in some cases can be helpful. By giving every student one standardized test, you can pick out what a students strengths and weaknesses are. If we have used this test for so long it must work at something so even though students could treat it as a competition or something to base on how smart you are, there is an upside. By knowing a students weaknesses or lowest scoring part of the test you can see as an educator what needs to be done to help that student be prepared for the real world. Because in the end that is the goal of school. So what schools you can choose to go to shouldn’t be based on a single test’s score.