Standardized Tests

Let’s talk about standardized tests.

I like to think I’m pretty smart.

It’s the kind of smart that turns on working hard and having a real, sometimes intense passion for learning.

I love learning.

That said, unless there’s an essay involved, my ability to do as well as people might think I would on standardized tests has always been a struggle.

Test anxiety and second guessing multiple choice selections has kept me from doing as well on the actual exams as I did on practice tests.

This was true for the SAT and ACT.

This was true for the LSAT.

It was true for the MPRE.

I learned a lot by the time I took the Bar, and ended up surprising myself there. I’ll tell that story another day.

I was fortunate to land at Wake Forest for college. A school dedicated to enrolling the well-rounded student, not just those who can ace a test.

Wake was an intense academic experience for me. I squeaked out cum laude honors by staying in the library and working hard right up to graduation.

But, my SAT/ACT score had no bearing on how well I did as a history major—and how well my passion for learning served me in those classes (we can talk about calculus and econ later).

It had no bearing on my willingness to work hard and build a resume from my extracurriculars.

Wake, in fact, was one of the first schools to get rid of the SAT/ACT requirement.

They did this shortly after I graduated and it confirmed for me that I had chosen the right undergrad to prep me for the real world—and to give me that well-rounded, liberal arts education.

Despite other credentials, undoubtedly, my LSAT score kept me from getting into my first choice law school.

That’s okay, because I wouldn’t trade my time at Ole Miss Law for anything.

And, notably, me and many classmates and schoolmates are practicing at well respected firms (or in well respected jobs or at well respected companies), despite the school’s ranking.

I, indeed, hold my own (I like to think) in an entirely different geographical location and against people from much-higher-ranked law schools, despite where I went to school (and it’s ranking).

And, what my LSAT score had no bearing on was this: how well I did in law school, whether I got a clerkship, and whether I got a job at two very reputable firms since then.

I understand that some data points are helpful when having to draw lines in the sand around the number of students to accept each year.

But time and again test scores are proven to not be a marker of how well a student might actually do in class.

It’s beyond time to move away from these scores being the bell-weather for acceptance into schools.

So, so many of us are thriving personally and professionally because of many other factors.

Although I think it’s way late for it to happen, I’m grateful these conversations are taking the national stage now.

I look forward to having a more diverse profession because of it.

#lawyerwellbeing #professionalwomen #law