Reality TV hits the SAT: Is the Uproar Necessary?

By: Devon Cormier
Posted In: Opinion

The College Board’s recent SAT question about reality television has had many people in a tizzy, but with media use on the rise and many college admissions now considering SAT scores optional, is all this fuss really worthwhile? Change does not have to be a bad thing.

Back in the stone age, the SAT essay prompts consisted of questions that would test a student’s writing capabilities, and knowledge of relevant worldly topics. Prompts would perhaps cite a quotation from a prominent historical figure, and then ask students to elaborate on it. For example, one sample prompt read as follows:

“Many societies believe that the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human right. But it is also true that attainment of happiness remains elusive. Perhaps Bertrand Russell had it right when he said, “To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.” What gives us more pleasure and satisfaction: the pursuit of our desires or the attainment of them? Plan your response, and then write an essay.”

Guaranteed, most of the students who read this prompt had no idea who Bertrand Russell was (unless they’re avid lovers of mathematical logic and analytic philosophy), but were still able to write the essay based on the context of the question. This is precisely the exact argument raised by The College Board, when swarms of angry moms and students whipped out their laptops and decided to blog about “how they’ve never watched ‘Jersey Shore.'”

In response to the uproar, Angela Garcia, executive director of the SAT program said, “The primary goal of the essay prompt is to give students an opportunity to demonstrate their writing skills.”

Truly, the prompt did exactly what Garcia said, and for the record, it never mentions any specifics about “Jersey Shore,” or Kim Kardashian. It merely questions the authenticity of such shows, and asked whether people benefit from such forms of entertainment or are harmed by them.

To those who have never watched a reality television show in their life, they could have argued the latter of that question, and spewed on about why they refuse to watch such “so-called entertainment,” but I suppose it’s too late now.

Ultimately, the goal of the SAT essay is to test students’ writing capabilities regarding prominent and worldly issues. While reality television may not be considered “worldly” to everyone, it is a prominent aspect of today’s culture. Media consumption is a huge influence on today’s youth, so why not write about its affects

In a recent study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, researchers found that “six years ago the usage of 8 to 18 year old was about six hours and 21 minutes of media consumption a day. This recent study shows that the media consumption rate has risen to seven hours and 38 minutes.”

The Kaiser Family Foundation also concluded in January, 2010, that youth with laptops jumped from 12 percent to 29 percent. 71 percent of all 8 to 18 year olds have their own televisions in their rooms, and an average home with an 8 to 18 year old contained 3.8 televisions, 2.8 DVD/VCR players, one digital video recorder, 2.2 CD players, 2.5 radios, two computers, and 2.3 console video game players.

Given this data on youth consumption of media, its impact on today’s generation and their formation of culture is clearly relevant. Media consumption is an issue that affects every generation, but especially those in their “tween” and teen ages. So, why is their uproar about an essay topic that defines much of today’s culture? The answer is “fear of change.”

To this, I will say the SAT is bound to change eventually. Over the years, the basic structure, and point-scale system has been reworked, but has not been questioned because it was in line with a standard. Well, today it is not the structure, but a component of it: the dreaded essay.

In addition to the actual SAT changing, college admissions have and are changing as well, which is a point that should be deeply considered. Many colleges do not require prospective students to submit their SAT scores, or have students send their verbal and math scores.