<p>I know that when SAT Writing became part of the reasoning test, there was little data to analyze and therefore was less of an indicator so colleges stuck to CR and Math. When, if ever, do you think all 3 sections will be given equal weight? Clearly the collegeboard changed their testing format because they thought it was necessary, and writing is, of course, an important part of college academics. </p>
<p>I only made this post to rant about how my Math and Writing are the two highest scores, while CR is just okay. And are kids a higher CR + Math than me really going to be considered "smarter"?</p>
<p>Writing is my highest score :(
It does count at a lot of scores though, not as much as reading or math, but if you have a great writing score I don't think it goes unnoticed, especially at small LAC's.</p>
<p>I wish it were equal as well. My writing score is the highest of my three sections and my essay was a 12. Writing is an integral part of college; it should be given equal weight.</p>
<p>I would have to say that there is a high correlation between those who can write well and those who can score well on the SAT Writing section...</p>
<p>It will matter when (if ever) the writing section ever measures writing ability. I don't have a problem with the grammar multiple choice, as those aren't as subjective, but the essay is meaningless--a vague prompt to which you must respond in twenty-five minutes. That's not a measure of anything. The section ought to be eliminated. Nothing will change for colleges...they'll still use the essay as a measure of writing ability. If schools want to know more about a student's writing they can, like Hamilton College, require a sample of graded academic writing.</p>
<p>I don't think the SAT essay is given much weight at all. An essay written about a generic prompt in 25 minutes isn't going to be quality writing. I've heard that it's more used to confirm writing style (to prove that you actually wrote your app essays, which are used to determine whether or not you're a good writer).</p>
<p>Today my counselor said that all colleges care more about writing than they do critical reading and math. Needless to say I was shocked. She says that the college board took a survey last september and apparently there is an overwhelming majority of colleges who care more about writing than the other two.</p>
<p>Yea the problem with the writing test, which I think will keep it from ever being exactly equal to the other 2 (though I'm sure if you did great on it that will still reflect well on you), is that its not objective and hence is counter to the point of a standardized test. That is to have a tool to compare people from all over the country and from different school systems that all work totally differently. If it isn't fully objective (which a writing test could never be) then it can't accurately do that. That on top of the fact that as it is, writing with the format they teach you in 7th grader (which is not what colleges want) is what gets you a good score on the essay.... but that can be changed as the test matures and graders get a better sense of what to look for in them. </p>
<p>The best solution for schools would be to screen a sample of each students writing which they do in the form of the essay (and some that require an actual paper). While this still isn't technically objective because what one person considers good isn't necessarily what another does (though I'm sure REALLY bad will stick out as bad to both hypothetical parties), it allows the school to evaluate writing based on what they want and/or see as good which in the end is how schools make their decisions anyway since there's no universal "good" for everyone. That's something the writing section doesn't do and that's probably why IMO it'll never be as important as the other sections.</p>
<p>Claire1016 don't worry I'm sure your other sections are high enough, BUT if they aren't you don't have to send them. Especially if you're applying to liberal art's schools...hahaha</p>
<p>I was shocked, as writing had always been my best subject on practice tests, but i guess not... So my question is, should I retake it?? I mean I have a 1480 on the 1600 scale which I'm really really happy about and would not exclude me from my dream schools (brown, princeton, upenn, chicago), but do you think I should retake it just for the writing?</p>