Opinion: The ACT Is Not an Effective Tool

Taking the ACT junior and senior year is a task that the majority of students stress over. Studying for, preparing for, and retaking the test itself are all a part of the process of the ACT, making it time consuming and oftentimes overwhelming. While the ACT is used by a multitude of postsecondary institutions to determine the work ethic and intelligence of students, one might wonder if basing students’ further education on one multiple choice exam is actually an effective way to determine acceptance. Logically, the performance of one test is simply not a better outlook for college performance than high school grades are. It is difficult to tell if a student actually works hard on his or her studies from a one-time test. Maybe they were feeling off, did not get much sleep, or forgot to eat breakfast on the day of the test, affecting his or her test performance. Test anxiety is also a real thing that can prevent well-performing and high achieving students from doing well. Since the ACT does not allow for corrections or time extensions, those who have trouble taking tests are already at a disadvantage. Not to mention, the test itself is flawed due to the fact that it is based on testing strategies rather than actually learning the material. There are many stories of kids using the Christmas tree strategy that got the same score as kids who took ACT practice classes, proving the test is faulty and easy to manipulate. The ACT is depended on entirely too much for both acceptance into colleges, financial aid, and students academic validation. If one does not have a good score, his or her future might be affected in a negative way. Though there does need to be some sort of standard for students in school, the ACT is a flawed marginalized multiple choice test that is not accurate for determining or judging one’s academic motivation, especially when held at such a high determining point for some kids’ entire lives. Overall, a small standardized test would not be a bad idea for small decisions; however, the spectrum of the ACT is entirely too broad for such little information it gives about students.