The first major shift in the role of education came after the Revolutionary War. Soon after our government formed, the leaders of the country, such as Thomas Jefferson, realized the necessity of education for the people of the new state. Government by the people made education of the people vital. "The goal of schooling became the creation of uniformly loyal, patriotic Americans" (Colombo 55). During those early years education began to carry with it the hope and promise that a penniless boy could become and educated, influential man.

As the gears of the country developed during the Industrial Revolution another change in education occurred. During this period, education "tracks" were developed. These tracks offered different types of education to different groups of people. Students wer

As disturbing as the lack of validity of the test is that the correlation between SAT scores and family income is larger than the correlation between SAT scores and freshman grades (Grouse 125). In his 1980 report Ralph Nadar went so far as to say the SAT merely grouped students by income level. Although the evidence stops short of fully supporting Nadar's position, it does demonstrate that the SAT favors students from higher socioeconomic levels. A breakdown of national, state, or even district test scores by family income levels show average test scores increase without fail as family income rises. Nationally, students in the lowest income brackets scored over 250 points below students in the highest income levels (Isger n.pag).

One of the larger modern barriers that stand in the way of the availability of education is the use of standardized tests to determine eligibility for admission to institutions of higher education. These tests, known as the SAT, GRE, ACT, and many others, are required by all but a handful of colleges and universities for admission. Depending on the selectivity of the institution (a characteristic that demonstrates the lack of accessibility for all) the required test score for admission can vary.

Frontline. Interview with Nicholas Lemann, 20 Apr 2000, .

Sacks, Peter. "Meritocracy's Crooked Yardstick." Standardized Minds: The High Price of America's Testing Culture and What We Can Do to Change It. April 20, 2000. .

Americans are obsessed with testing and rankings. From David Letterman's top ten lists to US News and World Reports college rankings, American's seek out rankings. The SAT provides families with a method of ranking not only their children, but also the colleges to which they apply, the schools they attend, and the communities in which they live. Despite the unfair nature of the test, families still place value on the results. And this may be the most destructive aspect of the test. Contrary to the myth of equal education for all and Conant's vision for a classless society, the SAT unfairly pigeon holes students based on factors outside of innate ability and educational background.

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Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)