NYT:Revisiting the SAT:The Writing Section? Relax

Parents Forum
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<p>Incisive critique of the SAT writing section that goes beyond the usual message that high school teachers complain of having to teach an “insta-essay” formula and that the test is too long.</p>

<p>"In what may be the most revealing measure of how little impact the new test has had, the admissions staff at U.C. did not take note of essay scores, much less look at the work itself, for freshmen who entered this fall, says Susan Wilbur , director of undergraduate admissions. “It’s not used in any step of the process.” (Colleges receive a score for each of the three sections — math, critical reading and writing; the essay score is broken out for them, too, but to see the essay itself, they must download it from the College Board Web site.)</p>

<p>Other institutions seem similarly unimpressed. In a 2005 survey released in September, a majority of colleges told the College Board they would require either the new SAT or the ACT with its optional writing component, but fewer than 30 percent of them expected to use the writing section as part of their admissions calculations.</p>

<p>“We didn’t look at even one of the essays” or consider their scores, says Lee Stetson , dean of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania, echoing the sentiments of colleagues at Harvard, Brown and Dartmouth.</p>

<p>Admittedly, that attitude could change in the next cycle, now that colleges have enrolled the first set of students to have taken the new SAT. But one indicator suggests admissions officers aren’t hurrying to take the essay more seriously: after the College Board announced the very first average essay score (7.2, on a 1-to-12 scale, for the class of 2006), not a single institution asked the board to calculate the average for the freshmen it had just admitted. And though a mere .006 percent, or about 8,000 students nationwide, earned a 12 on the essay, the College Board fielded not one inquiry from a campus wishing to know how many of its own had received a perfect score. (Colleges routinely rely on the board to crunch their averages.)</p>

<p>“We don’t note that information,” says Gila Reinstein , a Yale spokeswoman. She does know how many received perfect scores on all three sections, though: 25 percent.</p>

<p>By any measure, that signals some degree of indifference.</p>

<p>“Granted , that’s not what we might have expected,” says Caren Scoro panos , an SAT spokeswomen. “But we feel confident that that attitude will change steadily.”</p>

<p>So why has the essay been met with yawns, despite widespread acknowledgement that poor writing is epidemic in undergraduate education? There is a constellation of reasons, some as complex and mysterious as the admissions process itself.</p>

<p>To begin with, the admissions infrastructure is exhibiting widespread disenchantment with College Board initiatives these days. That’s due, in part, to the recent scandal surrounding the misscoring of thousands of tests. “There is fatigue with all the changes at the College Board,” says Kevin Kelly , director of admissions at the University of Massachusetts. “It’s a crisis of confidence that taints people’s attitude even toward what may be good initiatives.” The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education has decided that the writing section is too new and unproven, and it has instructed its public institutions not to consider the score in its admissions criteria.</p>

<p>That the College Board instructs graders to ignore factual errors does not sit easily with some administrators, either. And then there are the lingering questions about the value of an extemporaneous essay rather than a careful, selfedited argument, considered a bedrock of a liberal arts education. “To our way of thinking,” says Jim Bock , dean of admissions and financial aid at Swarthmore, “something written on a Saturday morning in less than a half-hour probably isn’t very indicative of much.”</p>

<p>Mr. Bock and other admissions officers say they are already overloaded with information about candidates.</p>

<p>“We have a great deal of material to help us see students in a sophisticated way...</p>

<p>Perhaps the most compelling argument for not taking much notice of the writing section is that its scores mirror critical reading scores. Harvard’s median for admitted students this fall was 720 in reading and 720 in writing; Yale’s was 740 in writing and 750 in reading. With near-identical results, many admissions professionals find the test changes to be just a matter of semantics. “The hardest part is getting yourself to think in terms of the 2400- point scale versus the age-old 1600-point scale,” says James Miller , dean of admissions at Brown. “We have yet to fully re-educate ourselves. A lot of us still think of a 2100 score as a 1400.” Brown’s admissions office could not provide the median writing score for this fall’s freshman class.</p>

<p>Another reason that the new test is not shaking up academia is that all tests are suspect these days. The list of colleges with test-optional policies is growing; and colleges in recent years have looked at applicants’ qualifications — grades, test scores, recommendations, class rank — in terms of a single outcome: do they accurately predict a freshman’s chance of achieving a high grade point average?</p>

<p>Looked at in this light, the new writing section, barely more than a year old, is an untested proposition. It’s widely accepted that standardized tests are not particularly strong predictors anyway; the most reliable aspects of a student’s portfolio are the relative difficulty of the high school course load and class rank. But one strike in the essay’s favor is that many institutions, including the University of California system, have long found the SAT II writing test, which was made obsolete by the new SAT, to be the most predictive standardized test, better than the verbal (now called critical reading) or math sections.</p>

<p>Still, even Ms. Scoropanos concedes that it will be a tough slog to the writing test’s full acceptance as a predictive gauge. But, she says, “we did exhaustive field research on this, and we feel those conclusions will be borne out eventually.”</p>

<p>In the meantime, the SAT essay has more nuanced uses. About three percent of colleges said last year that they would use it as a placement tool, crunching the score along with other indicators of writing proficiency to help place freshmen in appropriate courses. Others saw it as a counterweight to other written portions of applications — a clever use, it would seem, considering how many students use tutors and consultants to help with their applications. ”
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/education/edlife/SAT.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/education/edlife/SAT.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>thanks for the article -- but all it does is fuel my frustration over the writing section. isn't it nice to know that our kids have to sit through an extended SAT which has now become a physical endurance test so that an added section that the colleges don't care about can be included in the midsts of sections that colleges care a lot about!! it's not a matter of students being able to relax with the writing section -- the addition of that section makes the entire testing process more difficult.</p>

<p>and as for the UC's not looking at it -- wasn't it pressure from the UC's that led to the creation of the writing section as part of the SAT's?</p>

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<p>If the old SAT II writing test was highly predictive of college success, why is the new SAT I writing test so ignorable? Is it a completely different format or scoring system from the old SAT II test? And if so, why in the world would they (College Board) do that (make significant changes if the old one was considered a good test)?? I know the most highly selective schools on my son's list all required the SAT II writing before it got incorporated into SAT I, so they must have felt it was a useful and important measure.</p>

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<p>There's something I don't understand about the writing test.</p>

<p>If it is graded subjectively, and independent of the other scores, shouldn't we be seeing some wierd outliers in the scores, like getting a 750 in CR and a 3 on the essay, or a high essay score combined with low numbers on the multiple choice?</p>

<p>Instead, everyone who has posted here seems to get an essay score that is completely consistent with their other numerical scores. It's almost as if the essay grader is privy to the test-taker's other results, and grades accordingly.</p>

<p>I just wonder why I haven't heard of wilder fluctuations due to human error, handwriting problems, kids who are great writers but stink at multiple choice, etc.</p>

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<p>One of my friend's sons got 800 M, a good verbal and basically failed the W. He couldn't handle the prompt, the short time or any aspect. He was going to leave it blank, but the proctor encouraged him to write a few sentences. He can write under normal circumstances, but this was unworkable for him. He'll be applying to engineering-type schools that will hopefully be more interested in his high math and science scores and good grades and ECs in HS.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
If it is graded subjectively, and independent of the other scores, shouldn't we be seeing some wierd outliers in the scores, like getting a 750 in CR and a 3 on the essay, or a high essay score combined with low numbers on the multiple choice?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I think the essay is somewhat subjective, but I don't think the graders are completely out of line. I consider this somewhat outlier in scoring.</p>

<p>PSAT Writing - 800
CR SAT - 800</p>

<p>Essay - 7 (I'd have given the essay 8-10 - it certainly wasn't the 3 one reader gave it, but it might have been the 4 it got from the other reader IMO.)
However the total writing score wasn't bad because of the multiple choice - 690.</p>

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<p>Jaybee--this is from the original SAT 2 writing scoring, not the new sat 1 writing. But it speaks to your question about weird outliers (I'm cutting and pasting an earlier posting of mine):</p>

<p>"This is what happened when my D took the SAT 2 writing:</p>

<p>Got an 800 on the multiple choice part.
Got a 6 on the essay.</p>

<p>Other facts: 800 on the PSAT writing section. 770 on SAT 1 Verbal. 4 on AP English. Won many essay contests. Frequent accolades from high school and college teachers for her writing style, perfect grammar (English majors at he elite LAC had her proofread their work) and clear critical thinking.</p>

<p>I saw the essay, and it was error-free, clear thesis, three well developed points, clear conclusion. I've been a college writing teacher for 20 years, so I think I can judge this pretty well."</p>

<p>So yeah, I think that human error does exist in the system, at least did then, and the procedures don't seem to have changed much since .</p>

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<p>your responses actually give me MORE confidence in the grading than I had.</p>

<p>I hadn't heard these kinds of stories before.</p>

<p>Anyone hear of the reverse? Dong great on the essay, and poorly/average on the m/c?</p>

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<p>unbelievablem, I think we all share your frustration on this score - of the changes made to the SAT, the essay section is without doubt the most contentious. The more I look into it, the more I am convinced that Garland hits the nail on the head with her example: a good SAT essay is absolutely not the same as a good English class essay. However mind-numbing the open-ended prompts are, the 5-paragraph format is the key to producing the particular type of essay the CB wants a student to generate in 25 minutes. So, in this regard, I think the basic message of the NYT article to relax about this portion of the test is both warranted and welcome. All the same, I can't help ask the same questions that Bethievt asked in her post. The SAT II writing exam was required by many elite colleges - so it is a good question to ask what significant differences there are between that test and the new writing section. From the CB scoring guide and the NYT's article it seems like a score of 6 or 7 is judged to be more than acceptable. Admissions officers are just not going to take the time to pour over these essays with a magnifying lens or fine toothed comb.</p>

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<p>What surprised me about the SAT essay is how little information students are given about how their writing will be scored. I suspect that there is some kind of checklist that graders are given to help them arrive at a score, and students should have a better understanding of what the graders are being told to look for. Making any information given to the graders available to everyone seems only fair.</p>

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<p>" the admissions infrastructure is exhibiting widespread disenchantment with College Board initiatives these days...<br>
“There is fatigue with all the changes at the College Board,”... "all tests are suspect these days."<br>
"It’s widely accepted that standardized tests are not particularly strong predictors anyway; the most reliable aspects of a student’s portfolio are the relative difficulty of the high school course load and class rank."</p>

<p>"And then there are the lingering questions about the value of an extemporaneous essay rather than a careful, selfedited argument, considered a bedrock of a liberal arts education. “To our way of thinking,” says Jim Bock , dean of admissions and financial aid at Swarthmore, “something written on a Saturday morning in less than a half-hour probably isn’t very indicative of much.”</p>

<p>Sigh.<br>
(Why did it take them so long?)</p>

<p>I like the part about the 3% of colleges. (Nuanced indeed)</p>

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<p>My kid took SAT twice and received 12's on both essays, the first on the second administration of the test in 2005. When I read that first essay I said, "S, this is the biggest load of crap I have ever read." The reply was, "Ya just gotta give 'em what they want." How did he know what they wanted?</p>

<p>We both attribute it to the (now failed) version of state mandated testing my kids were subjected to throughout grade school that incorporated writing across all disciplines (see neglected "R" thread). The writing process they were taught for these tests was formulaic, simplistic, and altogether useless in the real world. Kids spent many years rolling their eyes and balking at the fact they had to "dumb themselves down" for these tests. Somewhere along the line it was realized the whole formulaic writing process was meaningless and tests were revamped. I believe it's possible the people who wrote our original state tests now work at ETS. Some dumb educational ideas never die, they just move on to torture others in a different way.</p>

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<p>Jaybee,
My d. just received her second set of SAT scores. They fell by 180 points (150 in the M & CR section), 100 in the CR section!!!! CR is her strength.
She received a 12 on her first ACT essay, and 11 on her second. I've been told she is a very thoughtful, creative writer -- perhaps not what the CB is seeking? She received a 9 on the SAT. Not great, but not particulary awful. Her MC questions, on the other hand lowered the score tremendously.</p>

<p>I can see how scores would increase after study. I can see how scores might decrease after study -- within reason. The magnitude of difference is what startles me. Her first ACT & SAT were virtually identical, and we can find no logical reason for such a difference. (not a bad day, didn't feel the test (especially CR), was particularly more difficult than in the past, calculator worked fine, writing topic was not outrageous, etc.). Luck? Should there be such variations due to luck? I would hope not!</p>

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<p>I have heard from admission officers that the SAT writing section is taken more into consideration where an applicant submits an outstanding essay in their application that appears to have been written by an adult. Since many parents hire consultants and even outside help to write the essay trying to give their child an edge (not entirely a fair playing ground where some parents are paying upwards of $40,000 for help) admission officers particularly at some of the ivy league and top tier schools are wary of this. Where an essay stands out as being unusually mature in terms of how it is written, and the other correspondence and answers sent by the applicant give the impression that the personal statement might have been written by someone other than the applicant, or with substantial help by someone other than the applicant so as to raise questions as to who actually wrote it, then the essay on the writing section is reviewed a little closer to confirm or negate that the applicant most likely wrote the essay in the application.</p>

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<p>unbelievable: the UCs do consider the W score for admissions, they just don't look at the individual essays.</p>

<p>All: Don't forget, creativity not rewarded, and, based on the scoring rubric below, authors such as Hemingway, Shakespeare and Steinbeck would earn low scores.</p>

<p>Scoring Guide
The Scoring Guide expresses the criteria readers use to evaluate and score the student essays. The Guide is structured on a six-point scale. Since the new SAT essay will be scored holistically, readers will be trained to use the Scoring Guide in conjunction with anchor papers, which have been scored by consensus as representative examples. The language of the Scoring Guide provides a consistent and coherent framework for differentiating between score points, without defining specific traits or types of essays that define each score point.</p>

<p>Score of 6
An essay in this category demonstrates clear and consistent mastery, although it may have a few minor errors. A typical essay effectively and insightfully develops a point of view on the issue and demonstrates outstanding critical thinking, using clearly appropriate examples, reasons, and other evidence to support its position is well organized and clearly focused, demonstrating clear coherence and smooth progression of ideas exhibits skillful use of language, using a varied, accurate, and apt vocabulary
demonstrates meaningful variety in sentence structure is free of most errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics </p>

<p>Score of 5
An essay in this category demonstrates reasonably consistent mastery, although it will have occasional errors or lapses in quality. A typical essay
effectively develops a point of view on the issue and demonstrates strong critical thinking, generally using appropriate examples, reasons, and other evidence to support its position is well organized and focused, demonstrating coherence and progression of ideas exhibits facility in the use of language, using appropriate vocabulary demonstrates variety in sentence structure
is generally free of most errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics </p>

<p>Score of 4
An essay in this category demonstrates adequate mastery, although it will have lapses in quality. A typical essay develops a point of view on the issue and demonstrates competent critical thinking, using adequate examples, reasons, and other evidence to support its position is generally organized and focused, demonstrating some coherence and progression of ideas
exhibits adequate but inconsistent facility in the use of language, using generally appropriate vocabulary demonstrates some variety in sentence structure has some errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics </p>

<p>Score of 3
An essay in this category demonstrates developing mastery, and is marked by one or more of the following weaknesses:
develops a point of view on the issue, demonstrating some critical thinking, but may do so inconsistently or use inadequate examples, reasons, or other evidence to support its position is limited in its organization or focus, but may demonstrate some lapses in coherence or progression of ideas displays developing facility in the use of language, but sometimes uses weak vocabulary or inappropriate word choice lacks variety or demonstrates problems in sentence structure contains an accumulation of errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics </p>

<p>Score of 2
An essay in this category demonstrates little mastery, and is flawed by one or more of the following weaknesses:
develops a point of view on the issue that is vague or seriously limited, demonstrating weak critical thinking, providing inappropriate or insufficient examples, reasons, or other evidence to support its position
is poorly organized and/or focused, or demonstrates serious problems with coherence or progression of ideas displays very little facility in the use of language, using very limited vocabulary or incorrect word choice
demonstrates frequent problems in sentence structure contains errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics so serious that meaning is somewhat obscured </p>

<p>Score of 1
An essay in this category demonstrates very little or no mastery, and is severely flawed by one or more of the following weaknesses: </p>

<p>develops no viable point of view on the issue, or provides little or no evidence to support its position is disorganized or unfocused, resulting in a disjointed or incoherent essay displays fundamental errors in vocabulary
demonstrates severe flaws in sentence structure contains pervasive errors in grammar, usage, or mechanics that persistently interfere with meaning </p>

<p>Score of 0
Essays not written on the essay assignment will receive a score of zero.</p>

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<p>consistency wasn't our experience. Our son is an award-winning writer who took college classes in English, receiving A's and scored the perfect score of 36 on critical reading on the ACT (and 34 on the writing). He has received grades from A to A+ on his written papers in philosophy and literature for Vassar college. (nothing lower than A.) Yet he was given an 8 of 12 on the ACT essay...his guidance counselor looked at his essay and could not believe it, she thought it was superbly written. He is not alone. He is one of MANY outliers and they are the REASON why the test is so poorly regarded. Thank god Vassar did not consider it.</p>

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<p>testers need to understand that the ACT and SAT essays are different animals. The SAT is a standard 5-paragraph persuasive essay -- the longer, the better. The ACT also requires a persuasive arguement, but it has to be argued from both sides for maximum scoring. From ACT website: "Address what others might say to refute your point of view and present a counter-argument."</p>

<p>My S, not a great writer by any stretch, scored a 10 on the SAT (twice) and a 10 on the ACT essay by following the instructions to a tee. I downloaded his first SAT essay and said, huh? I didn't think it was very good, but it followed the standard 5-par format exactly, even with his made up facts (graders don't care about historical correctness).</p>

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<p>But what I want to know is how the new SAT I essay differs from the old SAT II essay. If they're not that different, why is it being treated like an experiment. And if it is really different, why did they try to re-invent the wheel that lots of schools seemed satisfied with?</p>

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<p>
[quote]
From ACT website: "Address what others might say to refute your point of view and present a counter-argument."

[/quote]
Ohhhhh, that explains it. My d. had 11 on the SAT essay, scores of 7 and 8 on the ACT + a retake..... it never made sense to me. I thought she was just getting fatigued and giving the essay short shrift because the ACT essay is at the end of the test, whereas the SAT essay is first thing in the a.m. But I'll bet she missed that admonition to present both sides entirely.</p>

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<p>bethievt, as I recall, there was a lot of criticism of the old SAT in that males tended to score higher than females, and scores of minorities (blacks & hispanics) lagged far behind scores of of whites & asians. One thing discovered or argued along the way was that women and minorities tended to do better with a non-standardized format, partly because women tend to express themselves in writing better, and partly because there is more room to demonstrated one's thinking and abilities in an essay. That is, there is no such thing as an almost-right answer on multiple choice questions, whereas there is more leeway in an essay format. </p>

<p>Whether this is true or not, I don't know -- but I think part of the political pressure was to produce a single exam that produced a less discriminatory pattern of scores. Since females as a group tend to have stronger GPA's than males, it would stand to reason that on an accurate predictive standardized test, they should perform as well or better than their male counterparts. </p>

<p>FWIW, my own daughter's SAT scores certainly followed that pattern. The addition of the SAT writing boosted her "average" SAT score from 600 to 640, as she scored 130 points higher on the SAT writing than on the SAT CR.</p>