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"Does the author think that the SAT essays can be written by proxy when he STATES "their SAT essays -- more or less guaranteed to be their own work?" Where does the less stand for."</p>
<p>There are people who get coaching for the essays. The "expert" will suggest a number of topics which work for past "prompts." The kids write 5-10 essays on these topics. They then have these reviewed by the "expert" who gives "suggestions" for strengthening them and corrects spelling and grammar. The kids then practice writing them out until they can do it perfectly. If they are lucky, one of the prompts will "work" and they can then write out one of the prepared essays during the exam.
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<p>Of course, that's the method that originated in Newton in answer to the prompts offered in the now defunct SAT Writing II!</p>
<p>However, the essay written at the test center is STILL 100% the work of a student. You simply cannot penalize a student who prepared for an exam or a test with ... extra diligence, be it through personal practice or via the help of a coach. How do you separate students who never saw a teacher returning a paper that had detailed comments from the students who attend schools where this is the norm? </p>
<p>Here's a different reality: the SAT essay is an extremely simple proposal --if not simplistic. While it may not be a cinch to earn a 12, it should not be too hard for students who have ambitions to attend a selective school to earn a 9-11. Since those same students should have few problems acing the 8th grammar that completes the Writing test, the difference between a 9 and a 12 score becomes entirely trivial in the grand scheme of admissions.</p>
<p>When one gets to the bottom of this, it is hard to understand why so much ink is and has been spilled on this. In the past the SAT II Writing had little significance outside the boundaries of a very select world; there is no evidence that the boundaries have been extended very far, as most schools ignore the current results. </p>
<p>In the end, the SAT Writing may shed some lights on the abysmal state of what is taught in HS. The drama is not to be found among students who score a 10 or 12, but is at the other side of the range. The same drama that forces many universities to offer remedial english courses to a quasi illiterate freshman class. This is quite a parallel to what happens in the transition from middle school to college admissions. All the ink is spilled debating why a few hundred thousands cannot pass the gilded gates of Ivyland. Yet little is said about the millions who drop out of HS and never contemplate a college life.</p>