Debating whether or not the SAT should be given to NYC students

by Christina Aurigemma, staff reporter

Starting in 2016, high school juniors will have the opportunity to take the SAT (Standardized Admissions Test) during the school day for free.

“I feel like it’s better that it’s for free because it gives everyone a fair and equal opportunity for our future,” sophomore Clarence Saunders said.

They will be given the new SAT, which is out of 1600 points instead of the original 2400. The new SAT has many changes to it that people seem to either like or dislike. For example, on the new SAT, the essay is optional and points are not lost for wrong answers.

The SAT is approximately 54 dollars to take without a Fee Waiver, so having the chance to take it in school for free is a good opportunity for all juniors.

“I think it’s a benefit to take it in your own school. Since you know everything and everyone, you don’t need to go to a school where you might not know anything. It’s also beneficial because if you aren’t financially stable, you could finally get the chance to take it for free, and you can focus more on studying for the test so you could get a good grade,” sophomore Skylar Kleess said.

The SAT is not the only test students can take to get into colleges or universities. Even though the SAT only has Math and English sections on it, students can also take the ACT (American College Testing), which is another standardized test that includes Math, Science, English, and Social Studies sections in it.

In order to get into a college, students need to take either the SAT, ACT, or both, and see which test they receive a better grade on. Depending on the college, they may not take ACT scores, so students would only need to take the SAT. This is another reason why having the opportunity to take it in school for free is a great advantage.

“I think it’s a disadvantage for seniors because if they are only giving a free test out for juniors, they aren’t considering other students from other grades who need or want to take it,” junior Adriana Loh said.

It may be a disadvantage to many students because it’s only being giving to upcoming juniors and being surrounded by classmates might be a distraction to many students. People might not take it seriously either, and since it’s for free, they’ll just see it as another in-school test.

Another disadvantage would be that since students are taking it in school, students don’t need an admission ticket or any form of ID. Therefore, in bigger schools, it would be easier for someone to pretend they are someone else and take the SAT under someone else’s name.

There are many advantages and disadvantages for upcoming juniors taking the SAT in school. It is better for students to take the SAT outside of school because they would have to sign up and pay for it. Also, they won’t be surrounded by classmates they know so they won’t get distracted easily when they should be more focused on the actual test and wanting to get a good grade on it.