来源：《洛杉矶时报》
原文刊登日期：2021年12月1日
The SAT and ACT college admission exams are riddled with problems in their current form. Though they can be helpful predictors of whether students will succeed in college, they shut out too many bright and otherwise qualified candidates because those who can spend the money for private tutoring will almost always have the edge in getting higher scores. More affluent students also can pay to take the tests over and over to get their best possible scores.
SAT和ACT等大学入学考试目前的形式充满了问题。尽管它们可以帮助预测学生是否会在大学中取得成功，但它们将太多聪明和其他方面合格的候选人拒之门外，因为那些能够花钱请私人辅导的人几乎总是有获得更高分数的优势。更富裕的学生也可以花钱一次又一次地参加考试，以获得最好的成绩。
So, it’s understandable, if not ideal, that the University of California dropped them for acceptance decisions.
所以，加州大学在录取决定中不再考虑SAT和ACT成绩，即使不是最理想的，也是可以理解的。
But now UC has decided it will not use any entrance exam. Not the state’s standardized test for 11th graders. Not an exam that UC designs itself. University officials concluded any test would be prone to bias.
但现在加州大学决定不再使用任何入学考试。不使用加州针对11年级学生的标准化考试。也不使用加州大学自己设计的考试。加州大学官员得出结论，任何考试都有可能存在偏见。
This nonetheless is a problematic decision, especially after a committee of faculty leaders concluded in 2020, after expansive study, that the SAT and ACT were worth keeping and could help diversify the student population. UC should reconsider this policy and use at least one test as part of its admission process.
尽管如此，这仍是一个有问题的决定，尤其是在一个由教师领导组成的委员会经过广泛研究后于2020年得出结论，认为SAT和ACT考试值得保留，并有助于学生群体的多样化之后。加州大学应该重新考虑这一政策，并在录取过程中至少使用一项考试。
Grade inflation is widespread at affluent high schools, creating an inequitable situation. The holistic review UC uses for admission that can count any number of factors that the admissions officers happen to find appealing is even more subjective than course grades.
在富裕的高中，分数膨胀现象很普遍，造成了不公平的局面。加州大学在录取时采用的整体评估，可以考虑招生官员碰巧觉得有吸引力的任何因素，这比课程成绩更主观。
A test score can be an important check against report cards — which is what the faculty committee concluded three years ago. If a student has glowing grades but flubs a test badly time after time, that raises legitimate questions about how earned those grades were. And a student who performs well on the test but has weak grades might have had teachers who were tougher graders. Likewise, the student might be the sort of independent soul who would make a brilliant university student but doesn’t do well with the regimented rules and limited course offerings of high school.
考试分数是对成绩单的重要检查——这是教师委员会三年前得出的结论。如果一个学生的平时成绩很好，但一次又一次地在考试中搞砸了，这就引发了一个合理的问题，即这些平时成绩是如何获得的。一个学生在考试中表现很好，但平时成绩很差，这可能是他的老师评分严厉造成的。同样的，这个学生可能是那种有独立灵魂的人，他本可以成为一名优秀的大学生，但却无法适应高中严格的规定和有限的课程设置。
Entrance exams should be used to confirm that students have mastered what they need to know in order to tackle university courses. One way that UC could use standardized entrance exams fairly is to calculate a test score range that would indicate a student has what it takes to succeed in college, and then rely on grades and other factors. This is similar to how many prestigious colleges do it.
入学考试应该用来确认学生已经掌握了应付大学课程所需的知识。加州大学可以公平使用标准化入学考试的一种方法是，计算出一个能表明学生具备在大学取得成功所需条件的考试分数范围，然后再参考平时成绩和其他因素。这与许多知名大学的做法类似。
An applicant wouldn’t get extra “points” for a score beyond proficiency, which should tamp down the parental race to spend thousands on the best test tutors and endless taking of the test. Once a student does well enough to qualify, there would be no point to trying to improve the score.
申请者不会因为超过熟练程度的分数而获得额外的“得分”，这应该会减少家长们花数千美元请最好的考试辅导老师和让子女无休止地参加考试的竞争。一旦学生考得足够好达到合格，就没有必要再努力提高分数了。
It’s a shame that the university asked for a well-researched study of the issue by faculty and then decided to ignore their recommendations without considering the ways in which college entrance exams could be used to make better and fairer decisions about which applicants receive the sought after acceptance email.
遗憾的是，加州大学要求教职人员对这一问题进行深入研究，然后决定忽略他们的建议，而不考虑如何利用大学入学考试来更好、更公平地决定哪些申请人收到令人垂涎的录取电子邮件。