Act Standardized Testing

ACT Standardized Testing

Dr. Eleanor Reynolds,

As Oakland University's Director of Undergraduate admissions, you experience several admission decisions throughout the year. The ACT has always been a huge make or break when it comes to acceptance into college, but is the ACT the most accurate way of choosing the students to attend Oakland University or should creativity be considered? With being a student myself and experiencing the ACT, creativity should be taken into account when choosing students. Although the ACT demonstrates a student's test taking skills, some of your best students may not be great test takers. I myself am not the greatest standardized test taker, but I am very hard working. With a cumulative GPA of 3.93 I should have a strong ACT score, but I only received a 24. Unfortunately for me with a large family and lacking funds I was unable to take the test again to improve. If creative aspects were considered my application would be more promising, making scholarship opportunities more available. Other students have most likely had the same experience. Today, most of your weaker test takers are very creatively strong. Creativity gives other students an area to excel. More creative students tend to value time to think through problems. With the ACT time is scarce. It is always a race against the clock and this is a struggle for the critical thinking students. Many believe that a successful grade on the ACT relates to a students success rate in their first and second years of college. A greater test score can show that a student will excel academically, but it does not show how a student uses problem solving or divergent thinking. Creativity testing can show how a student uses those abilities and how they are open to new experiences. Students who show more creativity are willing to branch out and try new things such as new learning methods, which could lead to greater productivity in college. Students will be able to adapt to new teaching styles where as other students may only be used to the way they have been taught in earlier years. Another major issue with the ACT is that majority of low scores come from your minority students, women, and students with learning disabilities. These types of students earn lower grades on standardized testing, but may earn higher points in creativity. Many students with learning disabilities tend to use their brain in a different way. They understand things that involve more creativity ;therefore, creative testing may show more of their intellectual strengths compared to the ACT. Creative testing in applications may make it even for the students who are more creatively intelligent. It will give them an area of strength instead of just being compared to other students by their ACT. Also by considering more creative students, it can diversify the campus life at Oakland University and