Juniors will take the ACT on Feb. 27, while the other grades don’t have school. The ACT — among other things — is used during college admissions that could determine whether one gets into that school or not. However, lately, a lot of colleges are not requiring students to submit their ACT scores, and here’s why it should remain that way.

Obviously, someone who’s good at taking tests will get a better score than someone who doesn’t have that quality and the ACT is just that. Poor test-takers will struggle showing what they know through the ACT, already putting others a step ahead in college admissions. These standardized tests don’t accurately measure a student’s knowledge and growth.

Getting rid of standardized tests and switching to more performance-based learning assessments will benefit poor test-takers and allow them to showcase how they absorb information best. This could then prove to benefit when they apply to colleges. Schools will be able to see more clearly how successful the student is.

Learning how a student performs will help to accurately assess them in their application, while the ACT only tests that student’s knowledge in a limited amount of time. While standardized tests can help compare students from different schools, and some students show their knowledge best by taking the ACT, it ultimately doesn’t allow all students to showcase their learning in an efficient way.

Therefore, all colleges and high schools should steer away from standardized testing and focus more on a student’s grades and achievements because these are truly the things that will help them succeed in the real world.