100% agree. All the ACT/SAT prep classes and AP courses that are offered at HS in wealthy school districts makes all the difference. Anne Arundel County, Maryland, which is where the Naval Academy is located, offers the PSAT to ALL students for free. Each October, the test is given during school hours to all students in grades 9-11. FREE! The AAC has it in their school budget. This is a huge advantage as it allows students to get a better feel for just taking the test. Stats show that your scores will improve just by setting for the exam more than once. So each of these kids took the PSAT three times before taking the SAT. Most kids don't every get to take it. Students in wealthier areas also have resources (money) to take the prep courses. These courses usually teach more about "test taking strategies and time management" and focus very little on how to actually solve the problem. Thus, wealthier kids are more likely to score higher on the test. Perfect scores on the SAT/ACT are no longer a surprise to college admission boards and thus the bar has been raised.
Additionally, exposure to AP classes is another advantage to wealthier students. Our HS ( 5 miles from the USNA) offered 29 AP courses. Each of my three children graduated with over 10 AP courses. There are so many places in America where AP's are not offered at all. How are those kids to complete for college admissions when you have other students who are "better prepared" because more AP's are offered?
There is a huge imbalance in our nations schools. I personally do not like the ACT/SAT and could discuss it all day. My DD was admitted to three of the SA this year-she had good ACT/SAT scores. However, she graduated HS in 2016. She graduated- #5/500, straight A's all four years, 4.65 gpa, 11 AP's with 4/5 on all AP exams (including BIO, Chem, Calc AB/BC, Lit/Lang) and a ton of extras in leadership, athletics and community service and yet was denied or wait-listed from all of her top choice colleges(Tulane, UVA, Notre Dame, American and BU) her senior year. We are convinced it was due to her "lower than the new norm SAT/ACT scores".
She attended GW this past year and did extremely well and will leave there to attend USNA. As my DD put it, "so I worked my butt off to get amazing grades in the most challenging courses for four years in HS and my college fate will be determined on how well I did one Saturday on a standardized test? I should have just taken the prep course and slacked in HS." In my opinion, too much weight is given to SAT/ACT and it should only be considered as small portion for how well a student will do in college. Rather, the HS transcript is a better refection. Now, for all of those who want to raise the grade inflation topic..........................I am ready as well.
