^The SAT essay has nothing whatsoever to do with voice or being compelling or adding to the overall app. It isn’t a college app essay - different genre. It’s supposed to be objective analysis based on evidence.
My oldest scored just fine on the essay. However, I remain skeptical of the College Board and Pearson, which trains the graders.
The graders are "trained"but must go fast. At some point during the day if they’re running out of time they evaluate on length (and a few other criteria?). I don’t know if Pearson does that but I’ve heard of essays being evaluated in India where it’s cheaper. The training is minimal. Graders aren’t necessarily teachers themselves - they could well be unemployed college graduates.
In short, there’s a reliability issue with the essay score. I agree that sending a timed writing sample directly to the university would be better. (They need to specifically request the essay in order to see it).
Several of my daughters’ schools asked for a copy of a graded essay as part of the application. Especially if the essay is written in school as part of an exam, I think this might be a better way to gauge an applicant’s writing skill.
Re: SAT essay grading
Previous discussions on the subject suggested that the grading was very predictable and game-able through specific test prep that does not necessarily improve general writing skills.
I suppose being able to learn to adjust your writing style to various required formats and rubrics is a type of writing skill. Someday a crazy boss might want his reports done this way. Who knows?
What I like about it is that it levels the playing field.
I’m not pretending that it gives optimal conditions, and that’s ok. It does give everyone the same conditions, minus input from tutors, teachers or parents.
Even as a math teacher, I think that has real value.
schools are doing this to lower the bar on admissions to appear more selective.
Stanford has been the most selective university in the US for the past 5 years with the lowest admit rate.
Harvard the second most selective university dropped supplemental essay requirements on admission apps… and now drops SAT essay requirements to boost app numbers. You don’t do this when you’re the most selective uni.
it’s the same reason schools play around with EA and ED to boost yield.
there is a good reason… and then there is the real reason.
So, do we think that Yale (and Dartmouth) will say it’s “not required”? Or that it’s “recommended but not required”? I’m more interested in Dartmouth’s new policy but there is nothing on their website saying anything about the SAT essay. As I think was mentioned above somewhere, some schools say that they don’t require something (most notably SAT 2s) yet they continue to be recommended. In our case, coming from a highly ranked public school, that still means that the kids need to take those tests (and maybe this essay as well) if the wording will be “not required but recommended”.
I’m going to call Dartmouth on Monday and see what they say. I will report back in case anyone is curious!
Both Harvard and Yale use the “recommended but not required” language for the SAT Subject tests, but not for the SAT Essay. So by negative implication, it seems that they really don’t care whether you take the SAT with the essay or not. Dartmouth’s admission’s page is so darn confusing, can’t find any information on it…would be curious what they have to say (and why they have such an awful site layout ^.^) Thanks for keeping us posted on what you find @homerdog
Since most schools no longer require the writing portion of the SAT/ACT tests, does anyone know of a current list of those that require/strongly recommend it?
As Harvard and Yale no longer require the SAT essay, more colleges will certainly follow suit. The SAT essay is problematic on several fronts. First, the grading of the essay is inconsistent at best. Several posters have said that grading is not relevant since the colleges receive the actual essay, but I don’t believe that colleges will spend the time to read these handwritten essays to corroborate the scores. Colleges simply don’t have the time to do this with each individual application. Handwriting is also a problem which in turns affects scoring. And I don’t believe that the SAT will transition to an electronic format anytime soon due to logistical reasons. Many test sites simply are not equipped with sufficient number of terminals for every test taker for a given administration of the test. Lastly, a timed essay is not necessarily the best way to test for writing ability. Many English teachers will tell you that one of the most important elements of writing involves editing and revising. And a timed essay prompt does not allow for proper editing and revising.
A relative used an SAT tutor to improve her score on the essay. They worked on an essay that could be refashioned to fit any prompt, including a number of big words in the introductory paragraph. Her score went from an 8 (pre-tutor) to a 12 (post-tutor) on the 2-12 pre-2016 scoring scale. She said the essay was absolute gobbledygook.
Elite schools typically want to see sophisticated writing skills. But they are also increasing their acceptance of student who may not have had the opportunity to develop these fully yet.
Many posters in this thread mention the SAT is no longer being required by some universities due to the essay not being worthwhile, but could it instead be the dual benefit of increasing applications thus helping rankings plus the current SAT no longer being useful to identify the top students?
Even without the essays, standardized tests have been watered down so much that they can’t be used to identify the most talented students. They can only be used to corroborate other aspects of an application. Without the essay, there’s one less corroboration, especially of the applicant’s writing ability. Without some objective measures, college admission will be even less predictable.
I have a hard time believing most colleges are looking at the SAT essay. They just don’t have time, particularly in this age of even increasing application numbers. Besides, an essay written in less than an hour with no real chance for editing is unlikely to look like what a thoughtful student who’s been taught to edit well can do over the course of days or weeks. Any college that truly wants to compare a student’s application essay with their other writings can ask for a graded paper as part of the application.
How often would a school ask for an additional writing sample? This too seems like an extra step they might not take, and would alert the student to concerns. Would they ask the student or the school counselor?
Good riddance. The scoring was completely unpredictable and it’s less money these testing companies get.
It becomes a standard supplement, no more complicated than doing an additional essay. A few colleges already do it. Amherst, Brandeis, and Sarah Lawrence come to mind. Many prep schools ask for a writing sample as well.
One advantage to getting a graded writing sample is that it shows admissions the school’s writing standards. If a strong piece earns a B you can be pretty sure that kid’s A’s in English mean something, whereas if a paper riddled with mistakes is awarded an A you know the opposite is true.
So, I called Dartmouth and tried to get some answers on the SAT essay. I talked to a current sophomore who had to put me on hold a couple of times to get answers but she sounded very sure that the essay requirement is completely gone. They won’t look at it if you send it. It’s not considered.