I am proud to live in a fine country like the United States of America. I think that our country is the best, and its education system is one of the finest in the world. However, one of the areas that could use improvement is the method of administering standardized tests. I do not believe that the current method allows for accurate representation of a person’s knowledge. I do not believe that the standardized ACT or SAT should be timed.


The current method of administering these tests requires a set amount of time for each section. Guessing is promoted in order to finish the tests by not allowing ample time to think through the questions or to complete all of the questions. The exams do not test a student’s knowledge, but instead they test how well of guesser or how fast he or she is. Simply because a person is fast does not mean that he is more knowledgeable than the person whom needs more time to read the material and fill in the answers. The person who is not given enough time is forced to guess in order to finish or simply fill in the blanks on the answer sheet. She may have known the material but did not have enough time to complete the questions. It is for this reason that the tests are inaccurate and not fair. If they are meant to be an accurate representation of a student’s knowledge, the student must have enough time to complete the test.


In order to improve the current method for measuring our students’ intelligence, I feel that the standardized tests should not be timed. This would be a more accurate assessment. It is not fair that the better guesser is given a higher score than another person who may be more knowledgeable, but requires more time. Thank you for your attention to this important issue that concerns us all. Again, I want to stress the superior education system that we in the United States are privileged to have. We are greatly blessed.