Validity and Reliability

A standardized test is any form of test that (1) requires all test takers to answer the same questions, or a selection of questions from common bank of questions, in the same way, and that (2) is scored in a “standard” or consistent manner, which makes it possible to compare the relative performance of individual …

Standardized aptitude tests predict how well students are likely to perform in some subsequent educational setting. The most common examples are the SAT-I and the ACT both of which attempt to forecast how well high school students will perform in college.

Standardized tests may help schools determine where a student lies on the education spectrum, but they do not accurately represent every students full potential depending on their ability to take tests, and excel on them.

In the case of standardized testing, money, which has little to do with aptitude, acts as a barrier to education. Researchers have found that high standardized test scores have little correlation with memory, attention and processing speed.

We continue to push students towards high grades in order to prove their potential, but an NYU study says that a high GPA is not only not an indicator of success, it’s actually inversely correlated with one of the most important 21st Century Skills: Innovation.

While Elon Musk’s GPA has never been revealed, it had to have been a 3.9 or higher for him to be accepted at the University of Pennsylvania.

In 1990, Musk entered Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Two years later, he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn); he graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in economics from the Wharton School and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in physics from UPenn School of Arts and Sciences.

1 Oprah Winfrey, Net Worth: $3.5 Billion.