<p>Okay, I was riffing off of other posts--Xiggi you know far more about it than me.</p>
<p>(but I still wish they'd kept the analogies :))</p>
<p>hereshoping:</p>
<p>Why do I help kids with their essays? Because they did not grow up in households with two Ph.Ds, and rooms full of books. The kids who PM'ed me have been Americans, Europeans, Africans, and Asians.</p>
<p>Long after we finished this processd, i was told by a HYP interviewer that good math students should take the exam after 10th grade, and probably achieve their highest score, then later--summer before senior year--to get their best english score.
I discovered CC after S applied. Had I visited CC sooner, I would have advised S not to write about death of grandparents. There is a wealth of info here. Another adult made a few sugggestions for editing essay because it was too long.
My S was helped by SAT2's and PSATs. His scores proved that he bright enough to study on his own and taking exams on subjects he had never had in HS (physics, Latin, advanced math). His HS was not on the map for some schools, but the test scores spoke for themselves.</p>
<p>PS--miss the analogies too. Personally, I think they are reflective of analytic ability</p>
<p>"Actually, what I'd like to see with the SAT writing is that, rather than grading them, the essays just be sent to the schools, so they can use them as they want to."</p>
<p>Oh I like this. And access to a keyboard would be a big help for both my kids who are fine motor challenged. My older son's PSAT writing score was an 80 - his SAT writing score a 690 - the essay was certainly the culprit - he got a 7. He's not really a bad writer, but he has a terrible time coming up with ideas quickly.</p>
<p>From many of the above posts, its seems clear that the SAT essay portion of the writing section is one of the most unpopular recent changes in the test even though it is really is not that new. According to the CB, its purpose is to measure a student's ability to develop a point of view and to present ideas in a logical, clear and sustained rough draft. Holistic scoring is used to judge the essay on the total impression it creates in the sense that the whole is greater than its parts. Holistic scoring takes into account word choice, organization, use of evidence and grammar. Students are expected to either accept or reject the basic premise of the prompt and then come up with a coherent and logical argument in 25 minutes. This does not mean that it has to be thoughtful or provocative - it just has to hang together well. The essays are read quickly and scored independently by two readers, and then gone over by a third, according to the standards put forth in the CB scoring guide. The guide is readily available and so are practice prompts. The readers know that the piece is a first draft taken under test conditions and take this into account. While a reader's quick appraisal of an essay might leave a great deal to be desired and can in no way compare to grading an English composition, I hardly think that "holistic" means graded on a whim. There is a standard being used and controls to insure consistency. The essay does demonstrate a student's ability to think fast and write well under test conditons. Is this a true judge of writing talent and ability? That is quite another question and I don't think the CB has ever claimed the SAT to be a measure of that.</p>
<p>Until the ETS and CB come up with a better type of writing test, the following article contains the absolute best, and most basic, advice on how to "ace" the SAT essay writing section: Don't Overthink It.</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 essayu contests. Frequent accolades from high school and college teachers for her writing style, perfect grammar (English majors 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>The Collegeboard clearly made a mistake. When they score a multiple choice test wrong, they will correct it. But they would not admit this essay was scored wrong--and because, in the end, it's subjective, they don't have to. Call it a whim, or just carelessness, the result was equally untenable.</p>
<p>don't forget, the essay is graded by two readers, and a third, if the two readers differ by more than two (I think) points. Also, the Writing section is not really new, it was just moved over from the old Subject Testing Writing, which every UC applicant had to take anyway (apologies to non-residents)</p>
<p>xiggi failed to point out that the math portion only has 3-5 Alg II problems on it depending on administration; thus, a student could miss them all and still score well.</p>
<p>garland: Your story is amazing. I know marite says that the kinks will be worked out on the essay grading, but I remain skeptical.</p>
<p>On the last go-around of our state writing exam, state education officials were flabbergasted because the <em>highest scorers</em> on the reading and math exams, kids who actually hit the ceiling on those exams, were scoring "basic" and "below basic" on the writing exam. My son was one of those. </p>
<p>As a writing teacher, what do you think could be the problem? I know my son is a rather quirky writer; I also know that he has strong, well-thought out opinions about many subjects. The prompts that xiggi provided for us in another thread tended to be morally and politically loaded questions. My son tends not to have politically correct views. I wonder if the brighter kids do tend to overthink the questions (which the Washington Post article warned against), or to put more passion into their answers, or maybe are just not formulaic writers?</p>
<p>Perhaps this is why many schools are holding off on taking this score into serious consideration?</p>
<p>Well, anecdote for anecdote, since both Garland's D and my S took the SAT-II Writing, which has a long history, rather than the new SAT.</p>
<p>My S scored 630 on the SAT in 7th grade. His downfall was the CR, 25% wrong, near perfect on analogies and sentence completions. He took the PSAT and SAT again in 10th grade and also the SATII-Writing. on the PSAT Verbal, taken in October he had 73. On the SAT, taken in March, he had 750. Perfect analogies and sentence completions; errors in the CR. On the SAT-II Writing, taken in June he had 750. Perfect in grammar section, 8 on the essay. I think that throughout his history of taking the SAT, he was very consistent. </p>
<p>Knowing my S, I have no reason to question the 8. If I had read it, I might have given the essay a slightly higher score; I didn't. But ultimately, I do not think that the score he got on the essay is an inaccurate reflection of his writing abilities. He is someone who rarely misspells even without the spellcheck function; he is rarely ungrammatical and has a wide vocabulary. Before he took the SATII-Writing, he'd tried to think of some examples from real life, from literature and history which he might use to answer a variety of prompts. I have the feeling he might have shorhorned a particular example from history or literature into an essay where it did not really fit, but he did not have the time to think of another one. </p>
<p>I don't doubt for a moment Garland's assessment of her D's essay (I did not see my S's). I wonder, though, how typical was her D's experience and how much can be extrapolated from her experience (not that it helped her D specifically). </p>
<p>Both Garland's D and my S produced essays for the SATII-Writing which were graded by readers who had clear criteria for grading.I understand that the CB brought in a new army of graders to grade the essay portion of the new SAT and that they are still feeling their way around--as are the students. This is the point I was addressing. And this is why colleges are not taking the essay into consideration yet. No perhaps about it, and I've said so repeatedly.</p>
<p>Essay grading is subjective. Even math/science students will have to write essays over the four years of their undergraduate careers. In one year alone, my S has had to write 8. And college profs are complaining that students can't write. The new SAT is already putting pressure on high school to emphasize writing more. Good.</p>
<p>
[quote]
xiggi failed to point out that the math portion only has 3-5 Alg II problems on it depending on administration; thus, a student could miss them all and still score well.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Let me get this straight. A student can score well by being able to answer questions that are part of an 8th grade curriculum in the "more advanced" districts in this country and of a standard 6th or 7th grade curriculum in many other countries, i.e., algebra 1? So wherefore the strum und drang and handwringing over the SAT-math?</p>
<p>Our district prides itself on its writing instruction. Each student is required to write 20 pieces a year. The basic five paragraph essay is drilled into them from elementary school on. These kids know the basics of writing. Something else had to have been at play in the example I cited.</p>
<p>As for the math, I think the reason that some people have more problems with the greater content orientation of the test is because the level of instruction can differ so profoundly from district to district.</p>
<p>If Bluebayou is correct, "the greater content orientation of the test" still allows a student who has done algebra 1 by 11th or even 12th grade to do well. That should cover the different levels of instruction from district to district.</p>
<p>Within a forty or so mile radius in the area in which I live, we have districts from the highest possible quality to the lowest. It is amazing. We have the best schools, with a 100% algebra I 9th grade completion rate, to the worst - one with a 10% 9th grade algebra completion rate. Meaning that 90% of the kids in that school had not had algebra I by the end of 9th grade. This is the truth. Others have 30%, 40% completion rates. Better, but not by much.</p>
<p>This is why I think that the old SAT might have been more helpful in finding mathematical potential among these kids. JMHO.</p>
<p>Let me be clear. I have never liked the SAT. But I distinguish between the SAT as an instrument and the level of education that is expected of a student taking the SAT.<br>
I've never liked the multiple choice format--not surprising for someone who did not encounter it in k-12 school. But I see no reason why a student who aspires to go to college--any college--, should not expected to have covered algebra 1 by 12th grade.</p>
<p>I know it has been said that minorities did better on the analogies section. But I think that the ability to read critically is more important in college. And by that, I mean the ability to extract meaning from a text in which a student understands every word. A 10th grader once sought my S's help (in 9th grade, my S provided in-school science tutoring). He apparently understood every word in a short piece on biology. He had not a clue as to what the piece was really about. Memorizing it was useless. My S decided that what the student lacked was not knowledge of biology or a more extensive vocabulary but basic study skills. </p>
<p>At the time the CR section was introduced in the mid 1980s, the CB was already responding to clamors from college profs for essays to be included in the SAT. The CB was claiming that having an essay would be too subjective and also too expensive. I thik the real reason was the latter. It took the UC to threaten to drop the SAT to make the "too expensive" argument disappear. But because the CB was dealing with the essay at the point of a gun, so to speak, the introduction of the essay section has been less than well prepared and smooth.</p>
<p>I also believe analogies are more helpful in determining underlying intelligence. I can't keep my eyes open through many of the reading passages - I feel sorry for the poor kids.</p>
<p>I guess all we can do is wait and see and hope for the best!</p>
<p>
[quote]
Meaning that 90% of the kids in that school had not had algebra I by the end of 9th grade. This is the truth. Others have 30%, 40% completion rates. Better, but not by much.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Are they taking the SAT at the end of 9th grade? Or 11th grade? or beginning of 12th grade? Bluebayou claims that students can do well on the SAT even without algebra 2.</p>
<p>Sadly, very few of those kids take the SAT. The ones that do take it do not do well. The SAT scores are horrific.</p>
<p>I doubt there are many 9th graders who take the SAT, so there's no need to feel sad. I thought the issue was the unfairness of expecting SAT-takers--11th and 12th graders--having covered Algebra 1. Or am I missing something in your line of argument? Not to mention your regret that all this was keeping students from the most selective colleges.</p>
<p>This article hits many topics we are discussing on this thread and zeros in on test stress and the importance of taking practice SATs before the real deal. </p>
<p>"For many test takers, stress can hurt SAT scores more than lack of academic knowledge."</p>