Ep 86: The Dark Side of College: Testing, Admissions, and Inequality

Paul Tough, NYT bestselling author, shares what he learned in
putting together his most recent book The Years That Matter Most.
College may have a special place in the American Dream, but Paul
enlightens us into what is really happening behind the scenes--it
may have you rethinking decisions about higher education.


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Full show notes


College holds a special place in the American Dream. It’s almost
every parent’s hope for their kid to receive a four-year
education from a United States university and make a name for
themself. A college diploma is more than a piece of paper; it’s a
marker for status, success, and smarts. It can be a promise of
steady income, a supportive social network, and opportunities to
continue moving upward. College is also a social rite of passage
alongside a mind-broadening four-year journey. But the truth is,
that piece of paper is becoming more and more inaccessible every
year.


Getting into college seems to be an existentially taxing endeavor
in and of itself. Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds stress over
the SAT and ACT as if the scores signify their worth as a person
or determine the entirety of their future. When they’re that
young, it can be easy to believe a single test will make or break
their destiny and get wrapped up in test-related anxieties. With
all the negative side effects these exams have on teenagers,
people are beginning to wonder should students take standardized
tests?


Parents too can have a difficult time helping their teens find
the right college fit. It’s becoming normal for parents to go
gray trying to find ways to afford higher education and getting
their kids into a “good” college by stressing themselves over
their teen’s academic performance. Even financial aid seems to be
an elusive privilege to the families who need it most, and
student loans loom darkly in the future. With the stress of
taking standardized tests, finances, and social pressures from
all sides, one question is on everyone’s mind: Is college worth
it? And should students take standardized tests?


For the answer to these questions and a closer look at the
college admissions process, I spoke with this week’s podcast
guest, Paul Tough. In his most recent book, The Years that Matter
Most: How College Makes or Break Us, Paul takes an unflinching
stance on the reality of higher education in America to show
readers the truth about colleges and universities. From SAT
scores to post-graduation salaries, Paul’s extensive research
begs (and answers) the question should students take standardized
tests?


Admissions: Not As Easy As You Would Think


In an ideal world, merit would be the ultimate deciding factor
when it comes to who colleges and universities choose to admit.
But with an increasingly expanding pool of candidates and a
finite amount of resources, it’s far more complicated than you’d
think. It’s a mix of grades, standardized test scores,
extracurricular involvement, socioeconomic standing, and more. It
varies from institution to institution, so there’s no one blanket
statement that could properly encapsulate just how varied the
standards are. So the answer to the questions should students
take standardized tests is a bit complicated.


Written over the course of six years, Paul’s book is packed with
studies, research, and interviews with people all across the
spectrum of higher education. He recounts the stories of
low-income students at leading universities like Princeton and
Yale while offering insights from leading SAT tutors, recruiting
agents from top banks and law firms, and more. All his findings
point to one conclusion—one that might be disheartening to many:
When it comes to college, money matters. So should students take
standardized tests even though wealth may be a bigger factor in
determining what college they get into?


Struggling colleges and top institutions alike are constantly
looking for ways to fund their expensive programs, meaning they
look for students from high-income families who’re likely to be
solid donors down the road. Furthermore, some institutions may
not even prefer a student who is high-performing to high-paying.
But why? Wealth is paramount to a plethora of educational
institutions.


For instance, a university may very well prefer to admit a
high-income student who is an average performing (or even poorly
performing) student rather than a high-performing student from a
low-income standing. Why? It’s a better investment to admit the
average student who they know can afford full tuition rather than
the exceptional student who will need help paying for the full
tuition. Furthermore, wealthy parents beget wealthy students who
therefore will be more likely to donate back to the university in
large amounts.


So should students take standardized tests? The main critique of
standardized testing is that it actually doesn’t measure any
level of intelligence or skill. It does measure how well one
takes a particular kind of test, whether it be the SAT or the
ACT. Students who come from wealthier families will be able to
afford private tutors, while students who don’t have the same
means won’t be able to afford standardized test practice.


Furthermore, institutions will be concerned about their image as
a brand. When asked should students take standardized tests, many
colleges say that they care how publications such as the U.S.
News and World will rank them in terms of average standardized
test scores of the accepted student body. Again, standardized
tests don’t measure true level of intelligence, but they are a
factor that is measured heavily in the admissions process.


A student’s socioeconomic background even continues to influence
their chances of success even after graduation. Many employers
who look to hire from even the most iconic institutions, such as
Harvard or Stanford, will prefer to hire employees who are just
like them in a social sense. They don’t care as much about grades
or academic performance. Employers look for people with similar
hobbies and experiences—people they can “shoot the shit” with. It
creates a circle of affluence in higher education, and, in Paul’s
words, lacrosse bros really do run the world.


With so much inequality that keeps teens from affluent
upbringings on top, should students take standardized tests? The
tides are turning. Institutions such as Yale and Trinity College
have come under fire and been accused as being hypocritical in
that they tout themselves as being inclusive while containing the
wealthiest student bodies. Measures have been taken over the
years to have a more progressive standard of admissions, but as
it stands, most institutions' answer to “should students take
standardized tests” is yes because they are concerned about their
bottom line.


So Is College Worth It?


As there are so many hoops to jump through when it comes to
applying for college, the question isn’t just “should students
take standardized tests?” It’s also, “Is college worth it?” There
is no one answer that applies to all teens. As every teen is
different, every teen will want something different out of life.
It’s a perfectly legitimate possibility that the traditional
college path might not be appropriate for your teen. But, if your
teen is set on pursuing the traditional university path, you
should plan for the college preparatory road ahead together.