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The SATs have long been the gold standard of college admissions. Along with grades, the mythic 3-part exam has stood as the ultimate test before the applications process, the yardstick by which the caliber of every student is fairly measured. Unfortunately, the SATs seem to have outworn their usefulness, as studies scrutinizing their efficacy have revealed profound inequalities in student achievement on the test. The scores of white and Asian students are rising, while the scores of black and Latino students are dropping, and this uncomfortable truth has many people questioning what is going wrong. Some experts point to the inordinate attention paid to test-taking skills, rather than knowledge for its own sake, a manner of teaching that favors advantaged students with solid academic backgrounds. While the SAT itself may not be to blame, it has revealed problems in the underlying structure of childhood education that desperately need addressing.
