By Mackie Grady Posted December 20, 2019
Many people think your GPA and test scores determine how smart you are, but that’s not the case. Sure, it gives colleges an idea of what your strong subjects are and what you’re capable of doing. If you don’t score well on a test, it should indicate that students have a desire for improvement and academic drive and want to retake the test to improve their scores and GPA as well.
I believe the score you get on a test determines your level of preparation. If you study for a test, days in advance, you are most likely to do well on it. If you don’t study at all, you are most likely not going to do as well because you won’t know the material. It is possible to improve your ACT score through prep but they don’t always measure your intelligence. Standardized testing shows your ability to take tests, not your intelligence or how ready you are for college. If you can take a test very fast then there are two options; one you either know all the material and the test came easy to you or two you guessed your way through the test to just get it over with.
It is also possible that two students with equal intelligence, but different high school educations, may both take the ACT and end up with vastly different scores. The type of education you get on the subjects you will be tested on can also make a difference in your score.
Research from ACT General PrepScholar shows that “your scores aren’t always the most accurate measurement of your career potential. They don’t tell you anything about your ability to manage other people or complete long-term projects reliably. ACT scores provide a rough baseline measurement of your knowledge of math, language, and logic. They can’t measure how well you’ll use these basic skills on a larger scale in more complex scenarios, and they can’t measure your interpersonal strengths.” This means that it’s hard to determine someone’s ability to work with people based on their math scores or even English.
If you have a low GPA but a high ACT score, this is telling you that you’re probably capable of doing better in school. It also means that if you put more effort into studying or whatever it may be, you would be able to earn higher grades. It also shows that you have the potential to succeed in college if you adopt better study habits. It is also possible that you are very smart and do well on assignments, but aren’t a good test taker, so it is important you take your grades seriously because your test grades can either make or break you although you aren’t a good test taker you should still try your best cause when it comes to finals and exams, that grade will either hurt or help you.
