What an interesting change to the SAT! Well, I actually never took the SAT because all the schools I applied to accepted the ACT since that is more common in the Midwest. However, I have heard stories of how difficult the SAT can be. From what I just read, it sounds like the College Board just made the SAT even MORE difficult and disappointing. Their ideas are great, but not fulfilling to the students taking the test.
I personally feel they have removed some key concepts from the test that sounded very important to me (like the analogies), although I do approve of the addition of an essay to the test. Writing is essential to college preparation and a measure of one's preparation. Students from my high school who graduated and went to college told the teachers after a year of college that the one thing teachers needed to focus on more was 'writing'. Because of that, In each class we diverted the course plan every once in a while to focus on a writing project or some type of assignment that emphasized the importance of writing in each subject, including Math or Physics. It was pretty helpful.
However, I'm calling it difficult because of the following essays they list on the page from professors who receive '3's, '2's and '1's. Wow, really? They could be just showing us a random selection, and that the majority of the essays they received from educators could be 5s and 6s, but wow! The essay that received a '1' made me laugh. It made no sense whatsoever, although it seemed very thought-provoking. However, if I was only given "1 to 2 minutes each" to look over an essay, I'd give it a '1' also. It was too complicated to understand for someone who is generally looking for a mainstream prompt.
It is disappointing because they are discouraging students from being creative on their SATs. Having no "flair" or rhetorical language in an essay calls for general, typical essays instead. If the prompt is only one to two sentences, how do you expect a nervous high school student to write a well-organized, competent essay if they cannot be creative in the process? It's simple -- I would die. So, while I approve of the addition of an essay question to the SAT because of the emphasis it places on writing, I'm not sure they have the grading concept completely right yet. They should be more focused on making sure the student can address the prompt and derive an idea from it, even if they use rhetorical language and creative strategies to do so. I'm glad I never had to take the SAT!
