Umm, Why am I taking the SAT?

As I was watching 60 minutes with my mom, I saw an interview called “The Perfect Score: Cheating on the SAT”. In this segment, Sam Eshaghoff, a college student condemned of fraud for taking the SAT 16 times for other people, describes his “business”. Eshaghoff is a smart kid, and scores in the 97^th percentile every time he takes the SAT. Thus, he considers himself a sure investment, capable of producing excellent scores every single time. However, his services do not come at a small price. He charges students more than a thousand dollars for every test and can thus ensure a steady income.

This interview is meant to disillusion parents about the SAT procedure. It underlines the flaws in a system that is neither fair nor secure. It is generally known that higher income families can afford tutors to increase scores. Furthermore, as demonstrated by the interview, a fake school ID (which can be easily replicated) with a valid name and date of birth is all that is needed to impersonate a student on the test. As a student going through the SAT procedure, this segment got me wondering: Why am I taking the SAT?!

In my opinion, this whole debacle only reveals that the pressure surrounding the SAT is too overwhelming for students. As Sam Eshaghoff said in his interview, with his fraud he could “save someone’s life”, and though this statement is a little extreme, it is in its essence true. With one good SAT score you can change which college you get accepted to and how your life can play out. So much rides on this test. Students, however, are not the only ones that feel the pressure. As Eshaghoff’s scam shows, parents understand the importance of the SAT enough to pay money for their kids to succeed. Frankly, that is truly messed up. It is clear that the SAT needs a reform so that the next generations might actually get a fair chance. Here is the link for anyone who is interested.