I just read a terrific story posted on unigo.com, by a 57-year -old woman who decided to take the SAT. Sue Shellenbarger, who was challenged by her son, wrote the story for the Wall Street Journal, and I've included the link at the bottom of this post. I think it's a brilliant idea--not taking the SAT at age 57 (or at any age beyond, say 18 or 19 really), but expanding our point of view when it comes to the pressure our kids face as they go through the process of applying to college.
We all know that standardized testing is a drag, really. But what we probably don't realize is just how much of a challenge it is compared to when we took these kinds of tests--"back in the day." Shellenbarger points out that even the registration process is more complicated than it ever was for our teenaged selves. She also does a fantastic job of pointing out how kids today are more prepared for sheer endurance given that their school days and homework loads are also greater. And I really like the way she admits to reacting to the pressure of preparing for the test by doing all the things she warned her own kids never to do--procrastinating, getting depressed, and adopting sloppy study habits.
Then she puts an interesting neurological spin on the whole thing, relating declining math abilities to age--a sobering slant for sure. Enough said.
She goes through all the prep, taking practice tests, and she also goes through all the angst--just as many of our own kids do. In the end, she is a changed person. I'd like to think that I'm a slightly changed person, too, for having read about her experiences though I have no intention of taking the SAT or ACT ever again.
When I administered those tests as part of my job as a college counselor at a number of schools where I worked, I used to read through the questions to see which ones I could do, and if I knew all the vocabulary words I usually did fine with the reading and language questions though honestly I remember few things more boring to read than some of the passages on those tests where kids have to analyze and identify tone, purpose, style or content. The math questions I loved, secretly believing that I could do any math question thrown at me. Truth was, of course, that I couldn't. Math had gotten harder! Much harder than I remember from Mr. Link's eleventh-grade Algebra II/Trigonometry class, which is about as far as I got.
Standardized testing is a rough deal for many kids, no matter how we look at it. And my guess is that it would be a challenge for us adults as well--in fact, a bigger challenge than we might want to admit. By looking at how the process has changed, from a 57-year-old mom's point of view, I think we all become a little richer. I'm thankful that Sue Shallenbarger accepted her son's challenge, and I'm even more thankful that she wrote about it. You can see the story at http://www.unigo.com/articles/sat_review/?taxonomyId=760030
Let me know what you think.
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