While there have always been criticisms of the SAT, the College Board has been slow to make changes to the exam. However, in February of 2001, the president of the SAT's biggest customer, University of California President Richard Atkinson, proposed that the UC system eliminate the test from its admissions process. Atkinson and the UC administrators based this proposal on three long-standing criticisms of the SAT:

1)    The test is too coachable;
2)    It does not provide a true indication of potential collegiate academic
        performance;
3)    It does not encourage skills learned in the classroom.

Atkinson and the UC administrators felt that the SAT II exams were a better barometer of academic performance since they focus on 'student performance based on past achievement and course-specific subject matter. The changes to the SAT and PSAT were made to correct or mitigate these points of contention.

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The ACT has decided to add an optional writing section in an attempt to provide colleges with additional information about the academic abilities of students so that they may further assess a student's future academic performance. Since each college has varying needs, the writing section optional. Richard Ferguson, CEO of ACT, says, "By offering the ACT Writing Test as an option, we are providing a flexible solution rather than imposing a single approach on all students and institutions."

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Each essay will be scored independently by two readers from the College Board. Each reader will assign the essay a score ranging from 1 to 6. Note, essays not written will receive a score of zero. If the two readers' scores differ by more than one point, a third reader will score the essay. This process is similar to the methodology the College Board uses to score the SAT II: Writing Test and the College Board expects that fewer than 8 percent of all scored essays will require a third reader.

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1)     Read quickly for an impression of the whole paper and score         immediately; do not reread or analyze.
2)     Read the entire paper; the writing sometimes improves dramatically         as the writer goes on.
3)     Read supportively; look for and reward what has been done well,         rather than what has been done poorly or been omitted.
4)     Take everything in the paper into account: organization,         development, spelling, diction, sentence structure -- everything.
5)     Try to ignore the quality of handwriting.
6)     Do not judge a paper by its length; some short papers are good,          and some long papers are poor.
7)     Remember that use of a literary example does not make the paper          inherently better than a paper that uses examples from personal          experience, history, science, politics, sports, etc.
8)     Use the full scale; since papers are ranked against each other and          not against an ideal, some papers may receive a score of 6.
9)     Remember that each score category represents a range (e.g., a          high 3, a solid 3, and a low 3).
10)    Remember that each paper is essentially a first draft written under          test conditions in only 25 minutes.
11)    Remember that an unfinished (but developed) paper is not          penalized for lacking a full conclusion.
12)    Remember that, even though their writing is being evaluated for          readiness to handle college-level work, the writers of these papers          are, for the most part, only 16 or 17 years old.
13)    Remember that a paper with a score of 6 need not be a polished          essay.
14)    Remember that any paper that addresses the essay assignment          should be scored. The paper receives no penalty for a tangential          approach to the issue; it is scored on its own merits and on the          logic of the argument developed in response to the essay          assignment as the writer interprets it. However, an essay not          written on the essay assignment will receive a score of zero.
15)    Remember that the standards are set by consensus and that          individual readers are expected to accept and to follow those          standards.
16)    Remember that to the writer of the paper, the ideas expressed are
          fresh and original. (Unlike the readers, the writer has not already          read dozens of papers on the particular topic.)


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SCORE OF 6 An essay in this category is outstanding, demonstrating clear and consistent mastery, although it may have a few minor errors. A typical essay effectively and insightfully develops a point of view on the issue and demonstrates outstanding critical thinking, using clearly appropriate examples, reasons, and other evidence to support its position is well organized and clearly focused, demonstrating clear coherence and smooth progression of ideas exhibits skillful use of language, using a varied, accurate, and apt vocabulary demonstrates meaningful variety in sentence structure is free of most errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics SCORE OF 5 An essay in this category is effective, demonstrating reasonably consistent mastery, although it will have occasional errors or lapses in quality. A typical essay effectively develops a point of view on the issue and demonstrates strong critical thinking, generally using appropriate examples, reasons, and other evidence to support its position is well organized and focused, demonstrating coherence and progression of ideas exhibits facility in the use of language, using appropriate vocabulary demonstrates variety in sentence structure is generally free of most errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics SCORE OF 4 An essay in this category is competent, demonstrating adequate mastery, although it will have lapses in quality. A typical essay develops a point of view on the issue and demonstrates competent critical thinking, using adequate examples, reasons, and other evidence to support its position is generally organized and focused, demonstrating some coherence and progression of ideas exhibits adequate but inconsistent facility in the use of language, using generally appropriate vocabulary demonstrates some variety in sentence structure has some errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics SCORE OF 3 An essay in this category is inadequate, but demonstrates developing mastery, and is marked by one or more of the following weaknesses: develops a point of view on the issue, demonstrating some critical thinking, but may do so inconsistently or use inadequate examples, reasons, or other evidence to support its position is limited in its organization or focus, but may demonstrate some lapses in coherence or progression of ideas displays developing facility in the use of language, but sometimes uses weak vocabulary or inappropriate word choice lacks variety or demonstrates problems in sentence structure contains an accumulation of errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics SCORE OF 2 An essay in this category is seriously limited, demonstrating little mastery, and is flawed by one or more of the following weaknesses: develops a point of view on the issue that is vague or seriously limited, demonstrating weak critical thinking, providing inappropriate or insufficient examples, reasons, or other evidence to support its position is poorly organized and/or focused, or demonstrates serious problems with coherence or progression of ideas displays very little facility in the use of language, using very limited vocabulary or incorrect word choice demonstrates frequent problems in sentence structure contains errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics so serious that meaning is somewhat obscured SCORE OF 1 An essay in this category is fundamentally lacking, demonstrating very little or no mastery, and is severely flawed by one or more of the following weaknesses: develops no viable point of view on the issue, or provides little or no evidence to support its position is disorganized or unfocused, resulting in a disjointed or incoherent essay displays fundamental errors in vocabulary demonstrates severe flaws in sentence structure contains pervasive errors in grammar, usage, or mechanics that persistently interfere with meaning SCORE OF 0 Essays not written on the essay assignment will receive a score of zero.

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