When Little Kids Take Big Tests

Sure, you want your child to get into a good college. But does that mean 9-year-olds should be taking SATs?

A few Saturdays ago, a group of students scrambled into seats at Brother Rice High School in suburban Detroit to take the SAT college entrance exam. Some of their feet didn't touch the floor. Why? Because dozens of the students were seventh-graders or younger. One was in third grade. That same morning, my own daughters, ages 6, 10 and 12, were at home, watching cartoons and eating Pop-Tarts. It didn't occur to me to measure their smarts against those of high-schoolers. Or even to fake doing so, like "boy genius" Justin Chapman's mother, who falsely claimed that her 6-year-old son had...

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