<p>Are the 10 test on the collegeboard online course the same tests as those 10 in the blue book? </p>
<p>Is the automated essay scoring graded by a real person?</p>
<p>Also, for those who spent the $70 for this online course, was it worth it?</p>
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I think they are different…</p>
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Unfortunately, no. They are scored by a machine (from what I’ve heard).</p>
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It depends. For me, I won’t take it … but for others it might be great for them :)</p>
<p>My youngest son only had a week to study so he decided to sign up for the online course. The automated scoring was fast. The essay was computer scored, and if I remember correctly was a bit more harsh than his actual essay score. </p>
<p>His total score went up 370 points between Test 1 and Test 2. However, the first test was taken 12 months earlier so it’s hard to know how much of the improvement can be attributed to the online course vs. an extra year in school. Other than studying a few hours a day for a week using the online course, he didn’t study at all during the rest of the year. I think he would say it was worth the $70. It was a lot easier working on his laptop than lugging the blue book around every place.</p>
<p>A note on the essay scoring system: From my experience and from what I have heard, the ‘grading machine’ determines your score by looking at length only. After it took only 15 seconds to grade my first essay, I was suspicious, so I came here. Apparently people have copied and pasted random essays into the box and it still gave them 12s.</p>