<p>I am surprised NMSC does not consider the SAT essay as an opportunity to measure an important academic skill. I know MIT does not consider the SAT essay as important. </p>
<p>MIT</a> Professor Finds Fault with SAT Essay : NPR</p>
<p>Are there any other well known colleges and institutions that hold a similar view?</p>
<p>I think that a large number of schools give no consideration whatsoever to the essay, as the writing score is not considered. However I have noticed that more schools seem to be requiring freshman writing courses. </p>
<p>I believe that our high schools in general seem to be lacking woefully in grammar rules/skills particularly. My S2 who is in his second year of a private school after having attended public school recently did an essay that I reviewed. His first sentence of the paragraph was (for example) that the price of tea in China is $2/lb, but the last sentence of that same paragraph was that you can buy tea cups at many places. He had no idea that he should be on topic throughout the entire paragraph. His teacher teaches the AP courses and the SAT prep course. There was no mention of this “error” in the grading feedback. Teachers are able to grade an essay in 5-10 minutes, but without teaching the writer what it takes to be better overall.</p>
<p>Got off topic, sorry :-)</p>
<p>Fully agree it either should be considered by all colleges, or not given. Son has scored a 12 several times and sees no benefit from the schools he is interested in attending. Much like college and work–don’t measure something if it is not going to be used. I am somewhat shocked at the kids posting here that have great SAT scores (kudos) and either don’t try, or are haven’t been taught how to write a proper essay. It shouldn’t be incumbent on colleges to teach these basic skills.</p>