The New SAT ‘Adversity Score’ Turns the Idea of Meritocracy into a Sham
16th May 2019
The College Board, according to The Wall Street Journal, will now assign an “adversity score” to SAT test takers, “calculated using 15 factors including the crime rate and poverty levels from the student’s high school and neighborhood.”
“There are a number of amazing students who may have scored less [on the SAT] but have accomplished more,” said David Coleman, chief executive of the College Board, according to The Wall Street Journal. “We can’t sit on our hands and ignore the disparities of wealth reflected in the SAT.”
The adversity rating has already been used by 50 colleges in 2018, but will eventually extend to significantly more colleges.
Every student who takes the SAT will receive this adversity score, according to the Journal, but the students and parents won’t know what it is.