<p>Out of the 6 schools I've applied to, only 2 schools even claim to LOOK at the writing score. It's just frustrating to me, because writing was easily my best section (800). My reading was also good (790), but my math was fairly weak (660), and having a perfect in the writing added a needed padding. </p>
<p>Honestly, why do they even have the writing section on the test if so many schools just ignore it altogether?</p>
<p>Most school have admissions officers who have confidence in their own ability to evaluate you writing. They don’t need College Board to do it for them.</p>
<p>Because it is not a good measure of writing ability. My son took the SAT with the notorious essay prompt about reality television. It was really dumb and roundly criticized by both students and colleges. I believe the Chronicle of Higher Education had a piece about it. Will try to find it.</p>
<p>I think historically because it was a second thought. For years, the test has been developed to measure aptitude in Reading Comprehension and Math ability. Much much later, someone figured out that students also need to learn how to write. It doesn’t carry the same weight because it is disputed as to whether the way it is now whether it really is a good test of writing ability; although the Board has worked hard to establish inter-rater reliability, there is still too much subjectivity as well. With the new overhaul of the SAT expected to happen soon, let’s see what happens. For now, I agree it is too bad they don’t put more weight on it as my student did well on it also.</p>
<p>It’s actually been around for awhile–it used to be the English Composition Subject Test (aka SAT II) before it got grafted onto the SAT I in 2005. </p>
<p>Here’s what’s wrong with it: it encourages bad writing habits, it does not demand accuracy, and it rewards glibness at the expense of careful thought.</p>
<p>BTW, yes, grammar and writing matter. Your professors who have to grade your papers will be impatient if you don’t have a good grasp of standard written English.</p>
<p>The writing section has actually been proven to be the best gauge out of all three sections for how well a student will be in college. I too have an 800 in writing with a 12 on the essay(though my other scores are also decent at 760s) and think its stupid that certain colleges disregard it.</p>
<p>Additionally it has been proven that high scores on the SAT essay are proportional to the amount written on the essay. Thus -to an admissions officer- the writing test doesn’t measure your ability to write well, but rather your ability to write a lot. Also the SAT (and ACT) essay is really just a rough draft rather than a tru test of your writing abilities. The adcom is better able to tell your writing ability by your personal statements and essays than by the collegeboard and ACT’s tests.</p>
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I see why you are the only one supporting it</p>
<p>Though my writing score was better than my CR score, it really doesn’t make sense to judge someone’s writing on a 25 minute essay and basic grammar rules. I got a fairly high score and I’m still learning how to write in college style.</p>
<p>The writing score is my strongest section as well. Like most people here, however, I don’t think it is as important as the CR and Math section. When I write an essay, I usually put a lot of effort into it. Having to write one in 25 minutes is more like a rough draft and can, in my opinion, not display a student’s writing abilities. I have taken the SAT twice and I had a great prompt and a really weird one, so there is some luck involved as well. Plus I had to write an essay as part of the application for every school I applied to. Admission officers will evaluate your writing skills on their own.</p>
<p>I’m sure many of you are familiar with the MIT professor who has studied the test and determined that high grades are directly proportional to length of essay. Throwing in “SAT words” regardless of correct usage helps, as does quoting someone famous. Plus they are not supposed to take off for inaccuracy. This is all b.s. ITO good writing and academic habits. Ability to b.s. is, though, a reasonably useful skill in college.</p>
<p>At no point in college will anyone ever be asked to write a 25-minute essay on a broad “philosophical” topic with no preparatory texts. The essay bears no resemblance to any actual educational behavior.</p>
<p>Grammar’s useful, but very abbreviated on the exam.</p>
<p>Why is there a writing section? Because the UCs demanded it, and their applicants represent a huge amount of College Board revenue!</p>
<p>Duke averages the writing score with the reading, then adds to the math score. I think this is a fair way to approach interpreting the SAT while not overweighting the English portion.</p>
<p>^ That’s an interesting approach. For sure that would favor those who do better in Math or are non-native English speakers. Alternatively, many schools require ACT or SAT1 plus 2 SAT2.</p>
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<p>What is your source for this statement about the policy at Duke? </p>
<p>The Critical Reading score is easily the most important of the three scores, because the ability to read and understand material is crucial to success in college as well as in life. The Math score may have some relevance for those in STEM fields, though it is doubtful whether the type of questions on SAT Math have a lot of relevance to the math you will take in college. And the essay is a joke – all it tests is your ability to speed-write on a topic you have not seen before and on which you have no knowledge. As noted above, Writing is on the test entirely because the College Board was afraid the UC would drop the SAT test and the CB would lose all that revenue.</p>
<p>I perform alumni-applicant interviews for Duke. My source is Chris Guttentag, Dean of Admissions during his slide presentation given this past Fall to alumni families. While I agree that the SAT writting component has significant weaknesses, so does the entire test. I will say (realizing that it’s anecdotal) that the students I have seen perform generally best in college have done very well on this part of the exam.</p>