哈佛教育學碩士，擁有30年教育經驗的權威教育專家。曾在日本、韓國、美國、瑞士等國家的一些頂級學校內擔任過招生官及其他要職工作。榮獲美國大學招生諮詢協會 NACAC 和美國海外升學指導協會 IACAC 的認定併成為長期會員。同時，他還是美國獨立教育諮詢協會 IECA 董事委員會會員。
In the last two weeks, there have been two interesting developments in the college admission process. And when I say interesting, they are indeed interesting.
過去的兩週裡，美國大學的錄取政策發生了兩類有意思的變化。我這樣說是因為這些變化真的很有趣。
For the last several months (actually a lot longer than that) there has been a great deal of consternation over the SAT and ACT Writing sections. There have been questions about the validity of the essay, the purpose of the essay and whether colleges actually read the essay. Then along came Harvard who several months ago made the essay optional for both tests. Two weeks ago, Yale dropped the whole thing – the essay, to join most of the universities in the country who longer require the SAT/ACT writing sections. This now leaves approximately 25 schools left who still require it.
數月前（事實上還要更久一些），SAT和ACT的寫作部分曾引起了極大的恐慌。而關於小論文的有效性、寫作目的以及大學是否真的會閱讀的爭議一直從未間斷過。隨後的幾個月前，哈佛大學將這兩項測試的寫作部分定位成了可選項目。兩週前，耶魯取消了有關寫作部分的所有事項，從而加入了不需要SAT和ACT寫作部分的學校隊伍。目前，大約有25所學校任然需要寫作部分。
Why have colleges started to move away from this particular piece of testing? Many say that the additional time required for students to prepare is an undue burden. Others claim they never really read the essays and others still say the SAT in particular, is just too long. Many in the college field say the section (ACT and SAT Writing) should be eliminated all together. When a school states that anything is “optional” students still feel compelled to complete whatever that optional exercise is feeling that they may be jeopardize their applications.
為什麼大學開始擺脫這種特殊的測試？許多人說，學生準備考試所需的額外時間是一種不必要的負擔。也有人聲稱，學校從來沒有真正閱讀過SAT和ACT的寫作部分，尤其是篇幅很長的SAT。還有一些在大學領域的人認為ACT和SAT寫作部分應該一起被淘汰。當一所學校聲稱考試的任何部分是“可選的”時，學生仍然覺得不得不完成這些可選項目的練習，因為那些可能會危及他們的申請。
But we need to look a little further than just the admission process, many school districts require students to take the SAT, causing not only students to pay the fees for testing (admissions) and the additional cost of the essay section, but also taxpayers in the States that require those tests. Many further claim that the essay is lining the coffers of College Board and ACT.
但是我們需要考慮的不僅僅是入學過程，許多學校都會要求學生參加SAT考試，不僅讓學生支付考試費用（招生）和寫作部分的額外費用，那些本州的納稅人也同樣需要支付上述費用。許多人進一步聲稱，寫作部分正在為College Board和ACT籌錢。
The most stunning announcement came this week when the University of Chicago joined the growing list of schools going Test Optional (See Fairtest.org) for the list more than 1000 other schools. As one of the top research institutions in the US, this is big news and brings further into question the purpose of SAT and ACT in the admission process.
本週最令人驚歎的消息是芝加哥大學也加入了這個已經有超過100所學校加入的Test Optional名單中（具體請參見Fairtest.org）。作為美國最頂尖的研究機構之一，這是一個重大新聞，並進一步質疑了SAT和ACT在錄取過程中的目的。
As another stab at testing and the companies who make them, this is big news. For a long time claimants against testing have felt that due to test preparation has empowered the rich and wealthy and further burdened the poor and disenfranchised. There is some truth to that statement but even further, test preparation companies have saddled students with enormous pressure beyond school, forcing families to believe that without appropriate test prep, their children will not be competitive. Further, test prep has created a validity problem. Test prep boot camps challenged the purpose of standardized testing. When a student spends months (particularly here in China) preparing for testing either through memorizing or strategizing, is there any validity remaining.
這是一個重大的消息。很長一段時間，反對測試的申訴人認為，由於準備考試，富人被賦予了更多的主動權，並進一步加深窮人和被剝奪公民權的人的負擔。這種說法有些道理，但更進一步說，備考機構已經給學生帶來了超越學校的巨大壓力，迫使許多家庭認為沒有適當的考試準備，他們的孩子就沒有競爭力。此外，考試準備已經產生了一個有效性問題。備考訓練營挑戰了標準化測試的目的。當一個學生花費數月時間（特別是在中國）通過記憶或策略準備測試時，這是否真的對學生未來的在校發展和成功有實質意義？
What is further interesting is that both of these schools taking steps further than Harvard, typically the standard by which all schools balance their admission practices. Rarely has a top school set a path unless Harvard has made the initial move.
更令人感興趣的是，耶魯和芝加哥大學這兩所學校在測試改革方面都比哈佛更領先。一般情況下，哈佛做了什麼決定彷彿成為了所有學校的標準——除非哈佛已經採取了某些舉措，否則很少有另一所頂尖學校會成為領頭羊。
Before jumping into that arena, it is important to make something particularly clear. University of Chicago will NOT be easier to get into. They will be looking for more evidence that the student “fits” their uniqueness either through essays and other evidence as proof of academic talent. For international students, some form of standardized testing is still required – A-Level or IB. Interestingly they do not mention AP. In the end, UChicago is still UChicago and they will be looking for those who can achieve and be a part of their academic culture.
即便如此，作為申請者（特別是國際學生），我們需要清晰地瞭解以下事情：芝加哥大學並不會因此而變得容易考取。他們將會尋找更多的依據，通過申請文書和其他考核作為學術才能的證明來找到“符合”他們的獨特性。對於國際學生來說，仍然需要參加某種形式的標準化考試 - A-Level或IB。有趣的是，他們沒有提到AP考試。最終，芝加哥大學仍然是芝加哥大學，他們將尋找那些能夠實現併成為其學術文化一部分的人。
So, what does this all portend? Changes are coming, that is for sure. When two top players break away from the pack, others will surely follow. To what end it will be hard to surmise. What is certainly does do, is begin to change the landscape of required standardized testing and its relevance. One can only hope that more will follow the path laid out by Chicago and go Test Optional allowing students to focus on more important things like their education. With one less thing to worry about, perhaps students will take up the mantle and truly engage in learning for the sake of learning and not for a test.
那麼，這一切都預示著什麼？可以肯定的是，變化即將到來。當兩名頂尖選手脫離組織時，其他人肯定會緊隨其後。為了什麼目的，很難推測。但能夠確定的是，標準化考試的行業正在經歷一場前所未有的變革。作為堅守核心能力為王的專業教育顧問，我只能期盼有更多的頂尖學府能夠遵循芝加哥大學走過的路徑，成為不需要標準化考試的院校（Test Optional），這樣可以讓學生專注於更重要的事情。少一件擔心的事情，也許學生反而會擔起更多責任，真正在學習中鑽研，而不再只是為了測試。
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