In "The New SAT Will Widen the Education Gap" (op-ed, March 12) Randolf Arguelles states that "a score on the SAT or ACT is the only data point that is an apples-to-apples comparison" of students' educational abilities. Educational standards and course rigor vary widely, not only between schools but within schools. There are the tough teachers and there are the easier teachers. The tough teachers set high standards, assign challenging projects and papers and set the bar high for their students. I've discovered that many of these outstanding teachers use tests such as the SAT and AP exams to establish the scope, sequence, pace and grading standards for their classes. They teach to the test.
Teaching to the test is vilified in America. Not so in Asian countries. We need more teaching to the test, and the tests need to be rigorous. If 75% of your class achieves 60% or lower on a quiz, you need to reteach the material.
America needs to stop wasting educational time in schools promoting self-esteem and giving out stickers. It must end the use of more subjective grading systems so that everyone can feel like a winner. It needs to start setting high goals, educating well and graduating students who are winners because they developed self-esteem through hard work on challenging assignments. Until that time, tests like the new SAT, in Mr. Arguelles's words, "will further highlight the disparities between the haves and have-nots." A majority of American graduates may be destined to be numbered among the have-nots because they aren't adequately educated or tough enough, in terms of work ethic, to compete in an increasingly complex, global economy.
Mary M. Glaser
Weatogue, Conn.