Cheat Sheet: Several changes coming to standardized testing
The SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) is a “rite of passage” for most college students. Without these scores, the average American student’s chances of entering higher education are slim.
This golden rule still applies to Malala Yousafzai, the renowned 18-year-old Pakistani advocate for female education. According to Forbes, this young woman has recently expressed interest in attending Stanford University in Stanford, California.
Yousafzai hopes to study political science and/or philosophy at whichever institution she ends up attending. These majors will help with her future dreams of being a political figure in her home country of Pakistan.
According to BBC, she is dedicated to making her country a better place.
“If I can serve my country best through politics and through becoming a prime minister, then I would definitely choose that,” said Yousafzai.
However, before she starts tackling these goals, she must tackle a minor obstacle first: standardized testing.
Some may think that after being shot by a Taliban gunman for her passionate protests in 2012 and being the youngest laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize, the SAT would not be necessary for such a candidate; however, Stanford University insists that Yousafzai sit down to take the SAT along with the school’s 43,000 other applicants.
India Today and Forbes alike claim that Yousafzai’s résumé makes Stanford’s reasoning seem arguably absurd. Nevertheless, going off the fact that she scored high on the UK’s equivalent to the SAT – the General Certificate of Secondary Education – the test should not be an obstacle for her.
This is a controversial topic at the moment, as the SATs have been reported questionable to the actual academic integrity of the student.
According to the College Board, the SAT is being reformatted in the upcoming year. This includes an “optional essay, easier vocab questions, and no penalties for guessing.”
Along with her noted intelligence, Yousafzai will be quite the applicant with her ongoing list of extra-curricular activities and personal accomplishments.
This should be an inspiration for American college applicants and college students alike in the sense that all must persevere through testing, despite varying educational backgrounds and personal accomplishments.
– FORBES, Sept. 10; India Today, Sept. 12