<p>tokenadult, you're using extreme examples. I certainly wouldn't consider a person scoring a 2 on an essay better than another scoring a 12 on an essay. Nonetheless, I would consider a person with a 8 on essay to be equivalent to one with 12 on essay.</p>
<p>As a person who got 12, I consider the essay section trash. If they want to test real writing skills, extend the essay section to three hours.</p>
<p>We live in a very competitive world. However imperfect SAT/ACT are a measure of how you stack up against the competition nationwide. They are a sudden academic reality check. Likewise, high school grades tell you how you stand at the local level and in a more gradual way are also a reality check. These are the tools we have.</p>
<p>I've read essays of friends scoring anything from a 12 to an 8, and I think there's a significant difference in writing ability with each one or two points in score. The 12s have all been better than the 8s, and the <em>people</em> who wrote the 12s have gotten better grades in English than those with 8s. The SAT essay is kind of a test of writing style. Creativity is definitely not a factor, but familiarity with the English language, vocab, sentence structure, word choice, cogency of your argument, incorporation of examples, and overall flow are all factored into the grading criteria and should separate the 8's from the 12s. I might argue that a 10 writer could get a 12 on a good day, though.</p>
<p>Timing is still everything on the SAT. For example, i got an 8 on the essay but maybe that was because of 25 mins, because i'm known for writing great essays, but always during a longer period of time. Same with the math and the reading. I'm sure everyone could get 2400 or nearly that, if they were given an entire day to go through the test and pick the choices. the fact that there is a time limit and people are supposed to drop their pencils the minute the timer goes off, and you know you only have 2 mins left but 5 CR questions left, can really stress your mind out and pressure you and the last 5 questions are done carelessly.</p>
<p>There's also the whole 'leave it blank and you won't get any points deducted' scheme, which is smart since it prevents people from guessing, but it actually adds another choice to the 'A-E' choices that we already have. 'A-E' + 'F = leave it blank if all answers don't make sense and you don't wanna lose 1/4' choice.</p>
<p>So the SAT can't really be an accurate measure of skill, although it is true that a 2400 scorer is better at reading, writing and maths than a 1500 scorer. But the SAT is not accurate. After retakes, the 2400 scorer can always go down, and the 1500 can always go up...even if both studied the same amount of time. a lot of the marks are also due to luck on the test.</p>
<p>Just trying to say the SAT is not accurate..sorry I worded the whole thing. :)</p>
<p>^Exactly.</p>
<p>I was not taught to do 25-minute essays. Pretty much all of mine have been process papers..write 1st draft, teacher feedback. 2nd draft, peer edit, revise. 3rd draft, final teacher feedback. 4th draft turn in.</p>
<p>And that's the bare minimum. I think the most I ever did was 6 drafts. Yes, we do timed writings, but most of them are 45-50 minutes, which doesn't give me trouble. How are you supposed to write a stellar essay in 25 minutes?</p>
<p>I just don't think the SAT accurately measures your skill. ESPECIALLY if you're not a test taker or if the SAT just isn't your type of test.</p>
<p>I sometimes wonder what kind of score Einstein will get if he were to write the critical reading section today, assuming all choices and passages are in German. I am estimating a 300. All the real thinkers will probably get 500 or below.</p>
<p>Yes otherwise we wouldn't have these threads saying "i have bad grade but a great SAT score" or vice versa..</p>
<p>if the SAT score was directly related to highschool grades and intelligence, we wouldn't end up with people getting stellar grades and bad SAT scores..</p>
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I was not taught to do 25-minute essays. Pretty much all of mine have been process papers..write 1st draft, teacher feedback. 2nd draft, peer edit, revise. 3rd draft, final teacher feedback. 4th draft turn in.
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<p>I was never taught a 25 minute essay either. In fact, I don't think I've ever had to write any 25 minute essays in my life besides the SAT and ACT essays, and still managed 12s on both. I think that in general, HS students have much more time to write essays than what is given in standardized testing situations. I suppose those that really meticulously craft their essays and achieve good grades because they revise and edit ad infinitum (which, btw, is not a bad thing at all) would have more trouble with the SAT. So I guess the SAT essay tests how quickly you can think as well as how good of a writer you are. But is it so bad that the SAT tests speed? Speed is very important in school, in college, in the workplace.. the fact is that if you are a careful, slow, but articulate writer, that's great, but it would be even better if you could write all your homework essays in a short amount of time.</p>
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if the SAT score was directly related to highschool grades and intelligence, we wouldn't end up with people getting stellar grades and bad SAT scores.
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<p>Unless some high schools have very lax grading standards, which some high schools manifestly do.</p>
<p>Oh, don't get me wrong. I can write essays quickly and they'll be decent, because I'm not a bad writer. It's just even better if I can go through and make a few drafts.</p>
<p>Actually, yes (to the original question). My school has a very competitive atmosphere, and that includes SAT scores. I'm kind of in this situation already: my schools care about SAT scores, but for all but one I'm over their ranges to the point that what exactly I have wouldn't matter. Still, the level of competition around me pushes my score to an important place in my mind.</p>
<p>explain this:
how come I was able to get way better scores on the AP English exam than on the SAT CR sections?</p>
<p>AP is a WAY different test. It doesn't have the same material, it has a different aim. That's why SAT II scores can vary greatly from AP scores- in the same subject (CR and AP Eng ? are not the same thing). I took the APUSH exam the same week as the SAT II in US History and got a 5 and a 670. It's not because there's something wrong with the SAT exam, its because its a different test. That's why AP exams in subjects that are similiar to SAT sections exist.</p>
<p>"Unless some high schools have very lax grading standards, which some high schools manifestly do".</p>
<p>Agree completely, our AP classes are graded harshly, the kids have decent SAT scores, highest GPA out of this group is 95 unweighted end of Junior year. Our school does not weigh classes at all, only get 1 point added to GPA if you get an 95 or better in AP for the year, not many get that . </p>
<p>Our non AP kids, non accelerated kids have stellar GPA's (95-98 GPAs, the highest SAT out of that group was NINE HUNDRED(M/CR) 1200/2400 best score this kid is ranked #5 huh splain that one?</p>
<p>i would save my money and go eat or something haha</p>
<p>No way, I wouldn't!</p>