取消标化要求？不用考SAT了？来听听耶鲁招生官怎么说

　　受新冠疫情影响，这段时间美国院校纷纷取消SAT/ACT成绩要求的消息刷爆朋友圈。

　　SAT考试与ACT考试均被称为“美国高考”，成绩在以往会被作为美国大学的入学录取依据，也是大学发放奖学金的主要考量标准。

　　随着普林斯顿取消了SAT/ACT要求，8所藤校全部整整齐齐的宣布今年取消标化成绩要求！不单单是八大老牌藤校，排名前20的除了麻省理工大学（MIT）之外，全部都不要求标准化考试的成绩。

　　8所藤校今年集体放弃标化

　　29所TOP30大学取消SAT要求

　　取消了标化成绩的强制要求

　　真的变得容易进了吗？

　　不看标化，招生官看什么？

　　他们说“不要”，那你就真的不考了吗？

　　别慌！！！

　　先来听一听招生官怎么说！

　　在耶鲁大学等从事过20余年招生工作的招生官，听听他是如何看待SAT标化成绩的，再决定自己要不要备考吧！

　　耶鲁前招生官

　　Lloyd Peterson

　　耶鲁大学前招生官

　　美国大学升学顾问联盟成员，常春藤联盟及姐妹学校财政资助招生联合委员前主席。在耶鲁大学等从事过20余年招生工作，每一封耶鲁大学的offer都由他亲自签发，对于美国的录取标准和流程非常熟悉，在美国招生官界拥有极高的声誉和威望。

耶鲁前招生官谈SAT重要性

　　As a former senior admission officer from Yale I feel compelled to address the recent comments flooding social media regarding SAT optional / flexible policies many U.S. universities have adopted.

　　作为耶鲁大学的前任招生官，我收到了各方咨询我关于疫情影响下导致的美国考试选考政策(test optional)。

　　Covid-19 has triggered an emergency response to conversations admissions officers have been having for years. This emergency response I find unfortunate. A slew of SAT exams have been cancelled, and rightfully so; the College Board had no other choice. Subsequently, they have added exam dates in the fall of 2020, but still, those test dates are in extremely high-demand. And many kids around the world will never get the chance to take the SAT this year. That is the reality. The College Board considered, for a minute, offering the exam on line which from the outset was a horrible idea. That idea has thankfully been tossed overboard.

　　新冠疫情将这个我们招生办公室争论多年的话题又一次带入了大众视野。受疫情影响，CB考试局无奈之下取消了很多场考试。因此，学生们开始争抢SAT考位，并且很多学生今年抢不到考位。这就是现实。CB考试局也看到了这一点，于是曾一度考虑改为线上考试。当然，最后他们放弃了这个糟糕的点子。

　　Universities therefore had no other choice but to move to a test optional / flexible position. This conversation is not new to us. On one hand, most highly selective universities have never been fond of standardized testing. I am in this camp. We are convinced that there is a formal correlation between high test scores and high family income. Families who can afford high priced SAT prep companies like New Channel, and families that can afford for their children to take the exam multiple times will obviously be in a position to submit higher scores. I get it.

　　SAT选考成为了各大院校的无奈之举，但其实作为招生官，这个话题对我们真不是什么新鲜事。一方面，对于各大院校而言，大部分都不喜欢依赖标化考试评价申请者（我本人也是其中之一）。我们坚信分数与家庭收入紧密相关。这些家庭能够送孩子们去培训学校学习SAT并能让他们考很多次SAT。对，我们都知道。

　　On the other hand, when I left Yale I went on to serve as Director of Admissions at Vassar College. It is a wonderful small liberal arts college in New York that rejects far more students than they admit. Whether or not to move away from a SAT-required policy to a SAT-optional policy was one of the first decisions I had to make as Director. It was painstaking decision. But in the end, I decided to remain SAT-required. And here is why…

　　当我离开耶鲁去瓦萨学院做招生办公室主任的时候，我遇到的个难题就是SAT考试到底是必须还是选考。瓦萨学院是一个在纽约附近的文理学院，学校不大但是也是竞争异常激烈。这个问题对于当时的我而言非常棘手，但是我最后还是决定必须要求SAT成绩。并作出如下解释：

　　I acknowledged the correlation between wealthy families and high test scores. But more importantly, I also knew that courses taken and grades earned in those courses were more important than test scores. And in that vein I also knew that high schools around the globe have a myriad of ways to present transcripts-- the all-important document that records courses taken and grades earned. Some high schools use the popular 4.0 scale; others use a 5.0 scale. Some used an 11-point scale. From time to time I read transcripts that used a blend of scales to determine As, Bs, Cs, and so on.

　　诚然，SAT成绩与家庭收入的关系让这个考试变得不那么公平。其实，高中的课程和成绩比标化更能说明问题。我看过来自全球的各种各样的高中成绩算法：4分制，5分制，11点，A/B/C等等。

　　So in the end standardized tests, with all their shortcomings, have value. They level the playing field for applicants that applied to my universities from around the world. It is the one metric that allowed me to measure and to gauge all students the same way. With the SAT / ACT I knew all students were taking the same test, at the same time, answering the same questions. And when the majority of students applying all have A averages, with “A” defined in a variety of ways, this standard metric of evaluation becomes vital.

　　因此，即便标化考试有如此多的弊端，他的价值也是有的。它能展示出来我们大学的申请者在国际上处于什么位置。像是一个度量衡，它能让我们从一个统一的角度了解我们的学生。考生们在同一时刻回答同一问题，这个成绩如果能印证他成绩单上平均A的成绩，那么这个考试成绩对我们而言意义非凡。

　　My point to all this: SAT Optional does not mean selective admission offices will ignore completely SAT scores. Students who score well on these tests will certainly submit the scores. And admissions offices will consider them. Make no mistake. Until you get to the University of California. The 10 University of California universities, anchored by Berkeley and ULCA, are driving in a completely different lane. And for China, it is critical that we understand, that we study, and that we embrace this path. “Optional” is not the case. In a few years they plan to remove the SAT / ACT altogether from their admissions process. And if possible, they plan to “design their own standardized test for admission.” Whether or not they can pull this off is yet to be seen, and is not the issue here.

　　所以，在这个问题上我的态度是：SAT选考并不意味着招生官们会完全无视SAT成绩。因此，有满意标化成绩的同学一定要提交自己的SAT成绩，因为招生官们一定会考量的。当然，加州系统的10所学校，从伯克利到UCLA是走另一种完全不同的路线。对于中国学生而言，大家一定要意识到加州跟我们刚才说的“选考”是不一样的。他们是打算移除SAT/ACT这类标化考试，甚至有可能发展自己的考试形式。当然这不是本文想要讨论的问题。

　　What is the issue: for our kids applying to UC schools, the pressure on the transcript, the activities, the teacher recommendations and especially the essays will increase exponentially. And in my humble opinion, this is not where most Chinese education agencies do their best work.  I therefore suggest that first-- students and families must continue to prepare rigorously for SAT / ACT / AP exams. Second, as difficult as it seems, you have to find a way to strengthen your activity profile, especially if Berkeley and UCLA are your dream choices. Third and equally important get professional help with your essays. Today, they count more than ever.

　　加州申请者们需要倍加关注高中成绩、校内外活动、老师推荐信和自己的文书。据我观察，大多数中国的教育机构在这方面一直做得不够好。因此，我还是会建议学生和家长们继续认真准备SAT/ACT/AP这些考试。与此同时，大家一定要提升自己的活动背景，尤其是想去伯克利以及UCLA的同学。除此之外，大家的文书也一定要找专业的团队来提升。毕竟，这些项目已经达到了前所未有的重要性。

　　美国大学录取原则是Holistic Admission，全面考量的方式。标准化考试的确不是“”录取标准，但它也是一块重要的组成部分。

　　他们并不是说完全取消SAT/ACT，很多高等院校在2020-2021申请季中决定采用的是“Test-Optional”政策，意思是学生可以自己决定是否要提交SAT / ACT考试成绩。换句话说，你可以选择任何想要向院校证明自己的方式。

　　对于很多学生来说，SAT/ACT依然是证明学术能力的最重要要素之一。

　　今年受疫情的影响，SAT/ACT的考试也是接连取消，如果大家有可能考，还是建议大家一定要考，如果实在没有机会参加标化考试，那么大家就需要在自己的申请材料上狠下功夫了。

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