1. JJ_Maxx

    JJ_Maxx Banned

    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2012
    Messages:
    3,321
    Likes Received:
    503

    SAT writing? 120 seconds that can change your future.

    Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by JJ_Maxx, Oct 12, 2013.

    I read this today:

    The SAT writing test teaches students how not to write.

    And it amazes me that we want to teach our children how to write, but we lack the infrastructure to give them the attention that they truly need.

    The author says this about the 'graders' of the essay portion of the test, which counts for 11% of your overall grade:

    So there you have it, if you take more than three minutes to grade an essay, your fired. If you can do it in two minutes, you get rewarded. Also, they are only giving it a rating of 1-6.

    So they suggest you put in your essay a quote, a few big words and a couple made-up anecdotes and you'll get a good grade. Apparently, content or facts don't matter, either. Just make it look pretty.
     
  2. thirdwind

    thirdwind Member Contest Administrator Reviewer Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2008
    Messages:
    7,851
    Likes Received:
    3,339
    Location:
    Boston
    That would explain why so many college students are poor writers.
     
  3. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2006
    Messages:
    19,150
    Likes Received:
    1,034
    Location:
    Coquille, Oregon
    sadly, nothing surprises me any more...
     
  4. slamdunk

    slamdunk New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2013
    Messages:
    65
    Likes Received:
    8
    In defence of this, any system is probably going to be as bad and open to all sort of wrongs and bias if you try to judge "free" writing. Everyone has their own idea of good writing.

    Writing unlike mathematics is not a precise science of right and wrong so you can interpret a work and judge those skills however you like on a scale. And nobody can prove you wrong.
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2013
  5. thirdwind

    thirdwind Member Contest Administrator Reviewer Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2008
    Messages:
    7,851
    Likes Received:
    3,339
    Location:
    Boston
    Let the colleges you apply to judge your writing skills (by the college application essay). Get rid of the writing portion on the SAT I say!
     
    JJ_Maxx likes this.
  6. chicagoliz

    chicagoliz Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    May 30, 2012
    Messages:
    3,280
    Likes Received:
    817
    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    I've never understood why they added the writing portion to the SAT -- it just doesn't make sense as part of a standardized test. I agree with thirdwind that colleges should evaluate writing skills through the essays that are part of the application.
     
    JJ_Maxx likes this.
  7. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2010
    Messages:
    15,262
    Likes Received:
    13,084
    The only problem with that is that the student can get help with his application essay.

    The solution, IMO, would be to spend far, far more time grading those SAT essays. But of course, that would mean that the test would cost far, far more.

    Edited to add: Three minutes seems like barely enough time to distinguish between literate and illiterate--at that speed, a scale of 1 to 6 seems like excessive precision. Maybe Fail, Pass, and Surprisingly Good might be supportable in three minutes.
     
  8. chicagoliz

    chicagoliz Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    May 30, 2012
    Messages:
    3,280
    Likes Received:
    817
    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    This is an excellent point. Although I still don't think an essay is amenable to a standardized test with a standard score. I think if colleges and the SAT want to have a writing component, perhaps, the SAT should simply forward the copy of the student's essay that they wrote as part of the SAT to the colleges, along with the score on the other parts of the test, but the essay itself should remain unscored. That way, colleges will have a sample of a student's writing that they know was written by the student himself, alone, and in a timed situation. They can assess that essay in any way they want -- disregard it entirely, or compare writing styles with the essay(s) submitted as part of the application, etc.
     
  9. zabaar

    zabaar New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2013
    Messages:
    17
    Likes Received:
    4
    Robotic essays with no style
     
  10. graphospasm

    graphospasm Member

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2013
    Messages:
    114
    Likes Received:
    39
    Location:
    Texas
    I took the SAT twice; scored perfectly each time with a completely formulaic essay structure I came up with during my P-SAT practices. It took zero creativity, absolutely no critical thought, and I was done in half the time it took my peers (the majority of whom had lesser scores).

    Moral? The test is hackable, cheatable, and geared toward average opinions that don't require the reader to think about what they're reading--spoon feed the grader the opinion they're most likely to have and you're golden. Not a good standard for any kind of writing, ever, at all, end of conversation.
     
  11. chicagoliz

    chicagoliz Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    May 30, 2012
    Messages:
    3,280
    Likes Received:
    817
    Location:
    Pennsylvania

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice