Here at Uni, we’re all too familiar with standardized tests.

Besides the obvious SSAT, there are also SATs, ACTs, SAT IIs, PLANs, and PSATs to freak out about later on. Prior to coming here there were the Iowas and ISATs, and all sorts of other acronyms I can’t even remember.

I feel kind of stupid complaining about this, seeing as I’ve benefited from standardized tests on multiple occasions, just like most other Uni students.

But, here’s my beef with the testing system: Out of all the reading comprehension tests I’ve ever taken, not one has asked me to define a word that I learned in an English class. Any of the vocabulary questions that I got right contained words that I learned from parental lectures, or from reading books.

Clearly, having parents who don’t feel the need to be as long-winded as mine could put one at a serious disadvantage.

Essentially, the tests don't seem to cover anything relevant. That’s why when we were supposed to define “gifted” with guidance counselor Sam Smith during my freshman year, I was not exactly what one would call compliant.

I vaguely remember getting mildly outraged and whining, “How is being able to fill in bubbles correctly and not accidentally buying No. 3 pencils a talent?!” (Seriously, who buys No. 3 pencils? One year I had No. 2 1/2 lead and disaster struck.)

I won’t even talk about the incredible temptation to avoid the dull reading prompts or charts and color in whatever bubbles you feel like to spell out “Hi,” “Laura is cool,” or my personal favorite, “#$%$@^# THE SYSTEM!!!!”

I understand that Uni is an academic college prep school, and taking the SSAT to get in makes sense because it shows who can excel in that kind of environment. But we need to stop assuming that these tests are a good way to determine intelligence rather than just hard work, strong test-taking abilities, or an affinity for guessing.

Also one other question: The SSAT is an optional test. People who consistently score in the second or third percentile on standardized tests most likely do not take the SSAT because they wouldn't want to suffer through yet another redundant multiple choice question. So how are we all in the 80s and 90s? There isn't anyone around to score really low.

Well, that’s a bit off the subject, and the answer is probably data extrapolation. I’m just trying to demonstrate that standardized test scores are confusing at best, and don’t seem exactly fair.

Perhaps I'm just bitter because I had to spend middle school listening to teachers explain how to properly and efficiently fill in a bubble rather than learning anything useful.