Correction appended
AU required all applicants after the year 2005 to take the new SAT with the writing section, although other competitive universities have not heavily considered the writing scores in the admissions process, according to the College Board.
The reason for overlooking the writing portion stems from a lack of experience with the new test scores, said Kristine Sawicki, the associate dean of admissions for Reed College in Portland, Ore.
"It's only a year old," she said. "We don't have any long-term data. For the critical reading and math sections, we have lots of data and history with them."
The College Board began giving a writing test as part of the SAT in 2005, and the test was renamed the "SAT Reasoning Test," according to the College Board Web site.
Officials from AU's admissions office were out of town for a conference and unavailable for comment by press time.
The writing portion, although it is new, is an important addition to the SAT, said Alexis Pazmino, a freshman in School of Public Affairs.
"I think the writing test is a good tool," she said. "Sometimes, in the reading section, you don't get to show your personality. I think the writing section gives the SAT some sort of personality."
The new section now makes it possible for students to score up to 2400 points on the SAT, earning up to 800 points in three sections. The Princeton Review lists its projected range of SAT writing scores for admitted freshmen at American University between 650 and 720 on an 800-point scale.
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GETTING INTO COLLEGE
Standardized testing like the SATs is just one factor considered in the college admissions process. The following factors are listed as "very important" according to the Princeton Review in admissions decisions at local universities. American University: Secondary school record, standardized test scores Catholic University: Secondary school record, recommendations, standardized test scores, character/personal qualities, volunteer work Gallaudet University: Secondary school record, recommendations, standardized test scores George Washington University: Secondary school record Georgetown University: Secondary school record, class rank, recommendations, standardized test scores, essays, talent/ability, character/personal qualities Howard University: Secondary school record, class rank, standardized test scores Trinity University: Secondary school record, character/personal qualities University of the District of Columbia: Secondary school record University of Maryland: Secondary school record, standardized test scores SOURCE: The Princeton Review |
The essay in the writing section is scored by trained high school and college teachers on a scale from 1 to 6, with 6 being the highest score. The purpose of the essay is to assess the student's grammatical ability to organize, express and develop ideas, according to the College Board.
The new scoring system may have made it difficult for schools to assess applicants' abilities, said Emily Kline, a sophomore in the School of Communication.
"I remember my counselors said a lot of schools don't know how to evaluate the test because it's so new," Kline said.
Another student questioned the test's relevance to her education.
"The prompt [essay instructions] was ridiculous," said Emily Poor, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. "The question didn't seem to have anything to do with anything I've written before."
Poor, who also applied to Yale University, said she knew that many Ivy League schools "didn't give much weight" to the writing portion because the test is so new.
The College Board says over 400 colleges and universities require applicants to take the writing section, while many other universities recommend the test.
However, some schools, including Georgetown University, California Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo and Reed College, do not count the writing scores, as stated in the schools' admissions testing requirements online.
Right now the test is too early to evaluate, Sawicki said, but with more data Reed College will be able to determine if the new scores can help with the admissions process in the long run.
"Maybe it will be very useful," she said.
Correction: Although The Eagle reported that AU considers the SAT writing score for admissions while other colleges do not, AU does not in fact consider the score. AU collects the data but does not use it to make admissions decisions.
