
Why Are We Dumbing Down the SAT? - ZoeZoeBee
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/03/20/why-are-we-dumbing-down-the-sat.html
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Finnucane
If words like 'penchant' and 'accost' are considered too difficult, then what,
are we supposed to just say, if they can get through Randall Munroe's Thing
Explainer, they're good to go?

It does seem like the result will be effectively grade inflation: having a
fairly average high-school vocabulary will get you a high score, the same as
kids who are highly literate.

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Someone1234
I agree with The College Board and disagree with this article's author.

Learning obscure SAT words that aren't used either in academic writing or
daily parlance is a waste of everyone's time and doesn't prove someone is
better suited for college. It is just an arbitrary memorisation game.

If someone runs across a new word at the college level they can do what anyone
does at any level and look it up. No big deal. Calling people who don't know
the 1% most obscure words in the English dictionary "pretend readers" is just
trolling for controversy.

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pink_dinner
It really isn't just about knowing the words. It's about being disciplined
enough to memorize/study them.

You could really say that about many subjects. I don't use half the math I
learned in college. Does this mean I shouldn't have learned it?

