The Test & The Art of Thinking

The Test & The Art of Thinking

Parents and students understand the energy and emotions conjured by the SAT, which is not only part of the college admissions process, but also a true rite of passage for teenagers in the United States. Most of us never forget our score, or how we feel about it. This film endeavors to support individuals—especially young people—by examining what the test measures and means, and asking a range of visionaries, admissions professionals, and interested parties to discuss the use and ramifications of the test

Reviews

“Explains everything that’s wrong with using the SAT in the college admissions process”
JOHN DEFORE, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

“Finds only more grounds for controversy — including the exams’ encroaching effect on what gets taught in high school…”
ROBERT ABELE, LOS ANGELES TIMES

“Doggedly questions an exam that affects the futures of millions”
KEN JAWOROWSKI, THE NEW YORK TIMES

“A brutal takedown of a practice now warping K-12 education”
DAPHNE HOWLAND, THE VILLAGE VOICE

Press

“The Test and the Art of Thinking” – In Conflict

“The Test and the Art of Thinking,” a probing documentary by Michael Arlen Davis, explores the complicated history of the ...
Read More

“The Test and The Art of Thinking” – The Unecessary Struggle to Ace an Unecessary Test

The SAT and its cousin, the ACT, is one of, if not the, most daunting trials for students. These admissions ...
Read More

“The Test and the Art of Thinking” featured on FMI Media Review Show

The third episode of our Fall 2020 Film & Moving Image (FMI) Media-Review Show, in which FMI Chair Chris Reed ...
Read More

Film Review: A “Standardized” Test, and a Nation, Exposed in ‘The Test & The Art of Thinking’

In this well-researched, compelling, and surprisingly human documentary The Test & The Art of Thinking, filmmaker Michael Arlen Davis takes ...
Read More

SAT and ACT flunk out in documentary “The Test & the Art of Thinking”

The Los Angeles Times is the latest publication to pick up on "The Test & the Art of Thinking": Michael ...
Read More

Film Asks If SAT Tests Fail or Help Students

From Voice of America, some notes on "The Test & the Art of Thinking": Students and parents worldwide bemoan the ...
Read More

“The Test & the Art of Thinking”: The Problem With College Entrance Exams

Village Voice had this to say about "The Test & the Art of Thinking": College entrance exams remain a source ...
Read More

Review: ‘The Test and the Art of Thinking’ Is About A) The SAT

From the New York Times: “Mathematics, science, being able to use the English language: These tests don’t measure it and ...
Read More

Morning Joe talks The Test & the Art of Thinking

Test prep professional Akil Bello appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe this week to talk about The Test & the Art ...
Read More

KCRW 89.9FM interviews Michael Arlen Davis on “Press Play” with Madeleine Brand

The director of a new documentary about the SAT and ACT found there is near agreement -- from tutors to ...
Read More

Additional Info

Date: September 2015
Producers: Michael Arlen Davis and Jyll Johnstone