Standardized Tests Not True Measure No Surprise What Matters Much More Is Emotional Intelligence.

Author Daniel Goleman’s classmate at Amherst College had perfect scores on the SAT test required for entrance to college. But he missed classes and took 10 years to complete his degree.

As Goleman worked on his book “Emotional Intelligence” he probably wasn’t surprised about the fate of his classmate. Goleman documents the poor ability of standardized tests to measure a person’s chance for life success. What matters much more is emotional intelligence - self-awareness, self-motivation, impulse control, persistence, zeal, empathy and social deftness.

In other words, everything standardized tests do not measure.

Standardized tests required for college, law school, medical school and other graduate schools are under attack. Some universities are doing away with them. Others are minimizing their influence on acceptance. It’s about time.

Standardized entrance exams ultimately seem to measure only how well a person takes tests. Some are born with good brains for standardized tests. Others are not. Yet our culture has glommed onto the almighty scores as a measurement of worth, intelligence and potential.

Who has suffered? Some women who don’t score as well as men. Some men who don’t test well, either. Black and Hispanic students whose test scores lag behind white students. Acceptance to college and graduate schools should be based much more on a student’s emotional intelligence. Grades, essays, interviews, community service and letters of recommendation measure this kind of intelligence.

Even optimism is an indicator of future success. Goleman writes: “In a study of 500 members of the incoming class at the University of Pennsylvania, the students’s scores on a test of optimism were a better predictor … than were their SAT scores.”

Martin Luther King Jr. scored below average on the Graduate Record Exam required for the doctoral program at Boston University. The Unabomber, a National Merit scholarship finalist and Harvard grad, was obviously a brilliant test-taker. One died a legacy. The other will probably die in prison. End of argument.

, DataTimes MEMO: For opposing view, see headline: Testing indicates if problems exist

The following fields overflowed: SUPCAT = COLUMN, EDITORIAL - From both sides CREDIT = Rebecca Nappi Interactive editor