A Change is 'Gon Come! Well, hopefully...

There is a scene in the movie, "Boyz in the Hood" where Ricky (played by foine Morris Chestnut), Trey (played by the talented Cuba Gooding) and Brandy (played by the never aging Nia Long) are sitting in the library at THE Crenshaw High School waiting to take the Scholastic Aptitude Test also known as the SAT.  Ricky looks as if he's about to sweat bullets, Cuba is giving him an encouraging look fully understanding all that is riding on the SAT for Ricky and Brandy appears determined to do her best to realize her dream of going to college.  Time appears to pass s l o w l y as the three settle into the longest morning of their young lives.  

That scene (and countless others in the movie) is so familiar to me in part because it was filmed in the library of the high school I graduated from (Class of 1988, baby!) and the anxiety Ricky was feeling took over me when I sat to take that test over 25 years ago.  I was absolutely clear that my entire future was hinging upon my doing well on that damn test!  I was soon to emancipate from foster care and college was the best answer to the question I thought of every single day leading up to my high school graduation, "Where am I going to live?  That's another blog for another day, though.  

I hope to never see another Scantron in my life!

And after all of that, do you know I can't remember what I scored on the SAT?!?  It is entirely possible that my score was not worth remembering in the first place and brain simply decided to protect me from the PTSD associated with sitting for the SAT.  Or it could have been forgotten because when it's all said and done, it was of very little relevance at all.  What I do remember is the extreme emphasis our college advisor, Mrs. Goodman placed on college bound students doing well on the SAT.  Mrs. Goodman knew good and damn well most of us attending that urban high school nestled within feuding gang territory did not have the resources to benefit from an SAT preparatory class.  She knew many of us depended on the mock tests she got her hands on, administered to us and encouraged us to practice taking again and again to get ready for the big day.  Mrs. Goodman also knew the best most of us would be able to do to prepare for the SAT would be to heed her advice;  get plenty of sleep the night before, eat a good breakfast the morning of, be on time for the start of the test and remember not to guess if we did not know the answers to the questions.  I remember noticing many of us walking away from the testing center dazed, exhausted and relieved it was over.  And then we waited…

By now most of us have heard the recent news that the SAT, a test created in 1926 and adapted from the World War I Army I.Q. Exam to test innate intelligence, will be changed effective spring 2016.  After much debate and feedback from teacher, students and college admissions officers, The College Board will implement changes intended to addresses financial inequities among students (research shows the greater your household income, the higher you will score on the SAT), eliminate the advantage some students have as a result of being able to take the SAT prep courses and learn "tricks" for the test and actually test for what students are learning in high school.  Scoring for the 3 hour test will return to the old 1,600 point system, the essay portion will be optional and evidence based reading and writing will replace current sections on reading and writing.  

While there is plenty more to be addressed when it comes to the education system in this country, I am encouraged.  It seems that finally it is being acknowledged that plenty of good students that would do well in a college of their choice struggle with the SAT and thereby are at a disadvantage when college admission officers are pouring through countless college applications.  I had several colleges on my wish list and many of them sent the obligatory, "Thanks, kid but no thanks..." letter back to me dashing my hopes.  I mean, I was certain I had what it would take to succeed on any one of those campuses that declined my entrance but my SAT score told a different story.  I believed they did not know what I knew for sure back then.  The SAT I sat for many years ago did not test for among other things, nor did it predict:

1.  Resilience:  I managed to maintain an above average grade point average while living through being separated from my mother and sisters due to my mother's crack addiction that resulted in my sister and I being placed in foster care.  

2.  Flexibility:  I adapted to living with complete strangers (a foster mother, foster father and the 5 other girls) in the middle of adolescence all while managing my studies, participating in extra curricular activities and working at our local McDonald's (which is where I got my good work ethic, by the way…).

3.  Endurance:  Many times I was exhausted in high school with just thinking about my life circumstance.  I can't tell you how many times I cried myself to sleep wishing things were different in my family.  Yet in the morning I would hoist that heavy backpack onto my back and make my way to Mrs. Bayard's first period class on time.  I just knew I could have a better life if I applied myself despite what was going on in my life at the time.   

Even 1 can change a life...

4.  Passion:  I was the kind of student that had a thirst for learning.  Reading was an escape from the drama surrounding me and diving head first into homework was fun for me.  School was a refuge for me where I felt safe, cared for and capable, you know?  I would find a quiet space to spread out wherever I was, put on the headphones of my Sony Tape Player and get to learning.  I made sure to submit work that was neat, well thought out and complete…if we don't count Algebra II, of course.  I absolutely H A T E D that course and had it not been for Mrs. Odessa Washington's patience and understanding with my struggle in her class, the University of California at Santa Barbara (Go, Gauchos!) would not have seen my face nor heard my voice in their freshman class of 1988. 

Just like the kids of today, at 17 years old, I shook my head and folded my arms across my chest at the idea that one test would sum up my ability to succeed in a university setting and influence admissions officers thinking when reviewing my college applications.  I mean, what about year after year after year of learning that I made my way through?  All the homework assignments, papers, tests, projects…did they not count for anything?  Was my fate after high school truly left up to my ability to compete with other students that benefitted from the privilege of being able to take special courses and be tutored thus giving them an advantage on one test?  Absolutely not because here I am, 3 decades later having earned bachelor and master degrees working in a leadership position within a sizable public child welfare agency.  My score on the SAT would have predicted I would not complete an undergraduate degree, much less go on to earn another degree.  And I am certain I am not the only person with that kind of testimony.

Whatever the changes are to the SAT, I hope it works to give every young person an advantage regardless of their family's income or the resources they have access to.  I hope the new SAT encourages students from all backgrounds instead of filling them with dread and anxiety.  I hope the new SAT gives students the opportunity to showcase the totality of their best learning and invites them to display their ability to think critically about relevant questions (I did not use 90% of the words I studied for the SAT in college!).  I hope it inspires young people to look towards college with excitement and anticipation instead of leaving them discouraged and disappointed. 

There is enough to be discouraged and disappointed about for those of us working to find our way out of our disadvantaged childhood communities as the first in our families to attend college.  Taking the SAT should not be one of them.