As a student who despised taking standardized tests, I can sympathize with Mike Meno and Kristina Gawrgy's article "Test Takers Troubled By SAT's Writing Section." Although I do feel that the SATs can be partially useful for college admissions' offices, I don't think that they should be the determining factor for admission to college, for awarding scholarships, or for assessment of a student's intelligence. As for the writing section of the SAT, it's absurd to allot twenty-five minutes for a student to write an essay, even if "the graders are not looking for a polished draft." This will lead to an artificial, forced essay, which is never "good" writing. As a future ELA educator, I am annoyed that the determing factor for these essays is "structure." For the SAT graders, the organization of the essay is "more important than style or even content." In my opinion, a multi-pronged grading system to include structure, style, content, punctuation, etc. should be implemented to fairly assess a student's essay. Of course, this would mean extending the writing section time, which would make perfect sense.
Besides the issues directly relating to the SAT writing portion itself, I found myself concentrating on other interrelated issues that the article brings to light. For instance, I am interested (and concerned) about students' dependence on the five-paragraph essay. Michelle Kae is quoted as saying that she "can write a good five paragraph essay in an hour" but not intwenty-five minutes. Also, Brandon Jones (national director of the SAT and ACT programs for Kaplan Test Prep) emphasizes that the five-paragraph essay that students learn in schools doesn't help them in their twenty-five minute writing section. Although I understand that the five-paragraph essay is an easy way to teach essay organization, why is it all we teach in schools?! Aren't we limiting our students by showing them that this is the "only way?" I think that we could use the five-paragraph essay as a base in elementary and secondary schools and then slowly break free from this mold as the students mature as writers. We stifle creativity by the constraints of the "five paragraphs."
Another issue raised that I think will only become more significant is a student's struggle to write by hand. Michelle Kae claims that she is a very slow writer, and I cannot help but assume this is due to the keyboard that has become such a staple in our country. Of course, computers are a wonderful addition to the classroom experience as a whole. They allow people to communicate neatly, quickly, and effectively, but won't we lose something great if handwriting exists no longer? The personality and sentimentality that handwriting holds cannot be created or imitated by typed font. I am intrigued by this issue...
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I, too, am intrigued by this topic. However, despite the importance of the tests, I hear college admission counselors repeat over and over that the most important document in the admission process is the transcript. What courses did the student take, and how did she do in them? This information tells a school much more about a student's capabilities than a raw score on an exam. Of course the tests are important. But a great transcript will help to mitigate whatever bad scores s student racks up. You can't wish the scores away, but if you can demonstrate you're a great student in other ways, the scores will matter less. For more information, you might check out http://www.greatcollegeadvice.com.
Thanks!
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