How reliable/good is RocketScore?

Test Preparation
1

<p>I went to the site and did the trial essay about "No progress can be made without sacrifice" or something to that extent.</p>

<p>I wrote 2 different essays - one that I thought was good and one I purposely did horribly on. </p>

<p>I got a 12 on the one that I thought was good and the 11.9 on the one that was horrible. </p>

<p>Is this a good program to use to judge my essays? Or are there other/better programs out there? It seems that RocketScore judges your essay mainly on how long it is.</p>

2

<p>I hate to say it, but SAT essays are graded mainly on how long they are.</p>

3

<p>You can get decimals on the essay part? Something tells me that it's a tad inaccurate O_o</p>

4

<p>o_o; 11.9? O.o;;;;;</p>

5

<p>Yeah RocketScore gives you a grade to the nearest decimal.</p>

<p>Oh and how much better can the one on the Collegeboard's website be? I don't understand how a computer can grade your essay other than by looking at spelling, length, and grammar. How can a computer tell if you're examples are good or appropriate?</p>

6

<p>It doesn't.</p>

7

<p>Nevermind I answered my own question. I had a friend write an essay on there that had nothing to do with the prompt. He just wrote about the sixth Harry Potter book and spinkled in the words "progress" and "sacrifice" once in each paragraph and still got a 9.4. RocketScore is not a good program, unless the scores are inflated on purpose because it is the trial version.</p>

8

<p>ROTFLMAO :) Can you post that essay?</p>

9

<p>Sorry GDWilner...I didn't save the essay.</p>

10

<p>Damn .</p>

11

<p>Heh...I got a 10.5 with a Harry Potter essay. IMO it's absolutely horrible and off topic at times. I wrote it in about 10 minutes, spacing out here and there. I just wanted to submit something. It's all BS. SPOILER ALERT If you didn't read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince...DO NOT READ THE ESSAY:</p>

<p>
[quote]

 In Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, a predicament in the battle between good and evil was fairly evident. It was muggles and good wizards against Voldemort and his minions called Death Eaters. A certain twist of fate occurs at the end, changing many readers' thoughts about some main characters they have enjoyed for the past 8 years. With the magnificent use of her craft, JK Rowling managed to capture the imagination of her readers. This work required lots of determination. She started out as a welfare recipient before publishing her first book. Now, she's the most opulent woman in England.&lt;/p&gt;

<pre><code> Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is a great display of determination and hard work. Dumbledore, aurors, and many other witches and wizards have toiled for years in hopes of stopping the evil man called Voldemort. They progressed from knowing very little about him to being able to learn his weaknesses. However, by the time this occurred, Snape turned on his dear friend, someone who allowed him to teach at Hogwarts, and killed Dumbledore. Now, Harry must carry this beast of burden on his shoulders to save the world from the wrath of evil. He is the next step in this progression.

Progression is also seen in JK Rowling's soon-to-be-ending mega series. These Harry Potter books started out as simple, child-friendly books. Now, she has evolved as a writer and so have her books. Half Blood Prince is a lot darker and more mature than any of her previous works. Her skill has improved, noticing her inclusion of such words as "surreptitious". JK Rowling deserves all the praise and money for her unending hard work.

Success and evident progress are common results of hard work and determination. Such is seen in JK Rowling and her well-written Harry Potter series. Sacrifice is crucial to life in order to succeed. JK Rowling spent all her free-time, which she had very little, writing a book at a coffee shop. She had no idea that it would become a national phenomenon as it is today. In the story itself, the biggest example of sacrifice is when Dumbledore gave his life. There was nothing the aging wizard could do. He was at the hands of a backstabbing associate. This was a sacrifice to drive Harry. This would give him fire to overcome the dark evil that is Voldemort. Thus, Rowling and the Harry Potter series clearly show progress through sacrifice.
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<p>END OF SPOILERS</p>

12

<p>Do you think if you submitted that same essay at Collegeboard or Kaplan you would get roughly the same score?</p>

13

<p>No...I requested human scoring this morning...and within an hour, Tom Robinson emailed me. Let's just say he owned me:</p>

<p>
[quote]

Dear Justin,</p>

<p>Remember that RocketScore is just a computer, and so it always has to make "judgment calls" about whether a particular example is relevant or not.</p>

<p>Most of your essay was on topic, and some slight digressions are not a big deal since the graders (human graders, which RocketScore just mimics) realize that you're writing under pressure.</p>

<p>Also, RocketScore can't tell whether you're using big words (which it likes to see) like surreptitious organically, or just "citing" the word without actually using it.</p>

<p>In other words, RocketScore ASSUMES (as do human graders) that you're writing a legitimate essay, and not just playing around.</p>

<p>As I explain at length in the book, you should use ACADEMIC examples that "show off" (subtly) that you're a strong student who's learned a lot in school and is trying to apply that information in your essay. Harry Potter (and any OTHER example that you're writing off the top of your head, without having had the benefit of studying it in detail, and DISCUSSING it, and hearing the thoughts of others in your class) is a BIG RISK.</p>

<p>This essay would have received a 9 from a human grader, and since RocketScore can't tell that Harry Potter is a "pop culture example", a human grader might even have knocked you down a notch to an 8 (also with that weird citation of surreptitious).</p>

<p>Finally, using two and ideally three examples is better than an extended (and, as you point out, often extraneous) discussion of a single example.</p>

<p>Sincerely,</p>

<p>Adam Robinson</p>

<p>RocketReview</p>

<p>PS: You're a senior, so you should try to apply yourself to applying what you've learned in the book, Justin, it will help your score a lot.

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