I, personally, grew up in a small, (lower-ish) middle-class mid-western town with below-average (I think!) schools. I did not get good grades (I just didn't care that much). But I got really good test scores. So I got into a pretty decent (state) school with a legit engineering program.
One could argue that my lack of grades is a good reason for me to not get into a good school. But without the tests, I definitely wouldn't have. I shutter to think how my career/life would be different had I not gotten into a decent school.
So, at least for me, I have a real affection for these kinds of tests. And, as far as I know, I think the US is like the only place that doesn't use tests as the primary decider for higher education.
It seems like the move away from testing was "not based on science". Though it was sometimes couched that way. I'm glad to see sanity (and science) prevail. But it all seems very fragile to me right now.
One could argue that my lack of grades is a good reason for me to not get into a good school. But without the tests, I definitely wouldn't have. I shutter to think how my career/life would be different had I not gotten into a decent school.
So, at least for me, I have a real affection for these kinds of tests. And, as far as I know, I think the US is like the only place that doesn't use tests as the primary decider for higher education.
It seems like the move away from testing was "not based on science". Though it was sometimes couched that way. I'm glad to see sanity (and science) prevail. But it all seems very fragile to me right now.