Tests are changing

Behind the sweeping changes being planned to the SAT entrance test for colleges in the US from 2016 is a desire not only to toughen the test in the face of stagnant scores over the years but also to shield assessments from students resorting to last-minute tricks or learning by rote to score higher marks. The ACT, the more popular US college test, has already adapted changes and will be digitally available from 2015. Both major tests have recognised the fact that students are falling behind and that they must be challenged to be more analytical and prepared to surrender their calculators in the maths section.

Indian students would also have to change their approach to these tests since so many thousands take them to make it to colleges in the US. India does not have a matching national common entrance exams, except the JEE that deals solely with engineering and technical education. Those who set the IIT-JEE paper would probably have to take in the changes that ACT and SAT are attempting in order to make our student base also more competitive.

Rigorous thinking and the ability to analyse and cite evidence rather than merely reflect mugged-up knowledge are skills needed to succeed not on campus alone but in life itself. The ability to think through problems and leadership skills are probably what employers tend to look for rather than just college grades. Indian students who tend to shine in US colleges would have to keep pace to remain competitive internationally. The world is changing and we must change with it.