The possibility that the all-important SAT, which determines the futures of almost every college-bound student in the United States, is systematically biased against blacks is a serious charge. In a recent article in the Harvard Educational Review, the charge of bias is revived once again. Education researcher Roy Freedle has been trying to show that the SAT has a racial bias toward blacks, and his main support is that on average, blacks score higher on harder verbal questions than whites, but they score much lower on easier verbal questions. The results found in the article “Unfair Treatment?” by Maria Santelices and Mark Wilson in the Harvard Educational Review replicates these findings. Santelices and Wilson show the differences in scores are still present when comparing low-income whites with low-income blacks. They then conclude that the test is racially biased in some way and that it should be open to legal challenge. They do not propose an explanation for the discrepancy in scores, but Freedle has a controversial theory. Freedle claims the problem with the test is that it doesn’t account for the different meanings of simple words in black neighborhoods compared to white neighborhoods. According to Freedle, harder and more complex words usually have one meaning that doesn’t change because the words are rarely used in conversation. Simple words however, have constantly evolving meanings, particularly within ethnic communities. One example that he gives is the word “home”. Freedle claims that for blacks, the word “home” refers to an extended family system and that for whites it refers to a single dwelling. To fix this bias, Freedle suggests either having harder questions count for more or allowing colleges to look at a raw score of the student’s results on just the harder questions. I, too, share the goal of a fair society where there are no differences between races’ results on standardized tests, and awarding students higher SAT scores when they do not know the basic definitions of simple words will not help them out in any way. Freedle’s point about the word “home” is spurious because I am aware of these different meanings too. One has to be aware of the multiple uses of simple words to have a basic vocabulary. Even if “home” had a different meaning on the test, it seems reasonable to use context clues to figure out the expected meaning. Other words that Freedle claims confuse black students on the test include “horse”, “snake”, “canoe” and “golf”. Allowing ignorance of the basic meanings of those words and others puts minorities at a disadvantage when it comes to completing college and succeeding in the higher-paying job market. Once students who have different meanings get into college, it won’t get any easier. If a difference in language meanings indicated no difference in overall ability, there probably would not be a gap in graduation rates like there currently is. If the SAT is so biased, it would not be a good indicator of collegiate success. Yet, the U.S. News and World Report says the SAT, coupled with high school grade, are by far the best indicator of success in college. Maybe there is a language difference evidenced by the SAT results, but the education gap between races still persists after they are accepted to college, possibly due to the language barrier Freedle claims exists. I believe the main culprit in the SAT language gap is a substandard K-12 education, particularly in the early years. Many schools in minority neighborhoods receive poor funding and support. But even if minorities use culturally specific definitions at home and in everyday life, it is not unreasonable to expect them to learn the basic, common definitions– at the very least for purposes of schooling and testing. The more variations of simple words like “snake” and “house” a student knows, the more likely he or she will be able to communicate effectively in all situations– including college and the workplace.