Blog #9: Argument & Counterargument

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Merit-Based College Admissions

Argument:
Merit-based admissions system has become an obstacle to opportunity by perpetuating class divisions and excluding the underserved class. It also puts immense pressure onto the students to mold themselves into the uniform image of a successful achiever. 

Counterargument:
Criticisms of meritocracy are justified, but only to a degree. The problem is not the meritocratic ideal itself, but the way merit is defined, measured, and legitimated. Today’s merit-based college admissions are too contingent upon numerical measures: standardized tests, college rankings, and grades. SAT and ACT falls short of true assessments as they are used primarily to test demonstrated performance, not one’s true merit and aptitude. It is worth noting that SAT no longer stands for Scholastic Aptitude Tests as Scott Jeffe, a spokesman for the College Board in New York said, “The SAT has become the trademark; it doesn’t stand for anything. The SAT is the SAT, and that’s all it is.” In an effort to reduce emphasis on standardized tests, there is a growing movement for colleges to become “test-optional,” removing SAT/ACT test score requirement. Unfortunately, analysis showed that test-optional policies do little to improve underprivileged student enrollment, and instead help colleges to “increase their average institutional test scores and standing in the U.S. News rankings” as “low-scoring students would choose not to submit their test scores” (Andrew S. Belasco, et al, 210). Likewise, these instruments of comparison trivialize merit by obscuring wealth with superiority and reinforcing the power of money and privilege. The fact that merit is defined inappropriately; however, does not justify the rejection of the principle. As Leon Botstein, the president of Bard College, notes, “Tests are needed, as are grades and peer review of institutional practices, not as hard evidence of merit but as helpful diagnostic instruments.”  



Works Cited

Andrew S. Belasco, et al. “The Test-Optional Movement at America’s Selective Liberal Arts Colleges: A Boon for Equity or Something Else?” Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, vol. 37, no. 2, SAGE Publications, 2015, pp. 206–23, doi:10.3102/0162373714537350.

Applebome, Peter. “Insisting It's Nothing, Creator Says SAT, Not S.A.T.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 2 Apr. 1997, www.nytimes.com/1997/04/02/us/insisting-it-s-nothing-creator-says-sat-not-sat.html.

“Is Meritocracy Hurting Higher Education?” The Chronicle of Higher Education, 13 Sept. 2019, www.chronicle.com/article/is-meritocracy-hurting-higher-education/

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