30.
I thought this harrowing number was a thing of my past ― something I could essentially forget about and transcend as a freshman in college. However, to my dismay, my ACT score continues to haunt me, to impose limitations on my academic achievement and subsequent career opportunities.
I have never been a good test taker. Upon hearing the word “exam,” my mind floods with debilitating anxiety and apprehension. In a society so explicitly defined by one’s ability to perform well on standardized tests, colleges and employers blindly discriminate against students who aren’t good “test takers.” How can a measly three-hour exam be a meaningful indication of one’s past 18 years of personal and academic achievement?
The ACT, one of the most important factors used by colleges in making admissions decisions, does not serve as an accurate predictor of student aptitude and/or future success. The ACT rather serves as an indicator of one’s ability to perform well on structured tests and his/her degree of preparedness. While many affluent students begin preparing for the ACT years in advance, most students don’t have such resources, which leave them at a disadvantage in the college admissions process. If research continues to prove that standardized tests are not valid in predicting success, why did 1,666,017 students take the ACT last year? Better yet, why do colleges and employers continue to rely on ACT scores in evaluating applicants?
With the rise of alternative methods of testing the unique multiple intelligences of humans, it confounds me that we continue taking the same futile multiple-choice exams. Specifically, experimental data continues to confirm that students are better able to demonstrate their unique multiple intelligences through alternative, interactive formats such as presentations and digital storytelling.
While students’ scores on standardized tests can often be correlated to students’ IQs, these scores are not representative of students’ EQs. While an IQ, or intelligence quotient, is representative of one’s ability to analyze information and “connect the dots,” an EQ, or emotional quotient, is indicative of one’s ability to work in teams, be a leader and take initiative. Applicants’ EQs are just as important as their IQs, and new testing methods aimed at measuring EQs should be used by employers and colleges.
In contrast to traditional tests like the ACT, digital storytelling allows educators to better test the creative and emotional intelligences of students, which are largely neglected by traditional multiple choice exams. The effectiveness of digital storytelling is predicated on the merits of traditional oral storytelling, but it involves the amalgam of narrative, animations, photography and emotion.
