Interviews with SAT Essay Designers

Check out these National Public Radio archived interviews from 2005 about the SAT, including two interviews with SAT designers! Now I ask you, who knows the SAT better than the people who design it . . . ?  Give a listen!

Taking the New SAT Essay - NPR interviewed Bernard Phelan, an English teacher who served on the College Board and helped design the New SAT Essay questions. In this brief four-minute interview, Phelan shares a sample SAT question and the interviewer tries to write a few sentences for an SAT Essay while Phelan critiques his attempts and provides pointers. 

My favorite point:  "Throat clearing" is not an introduction.

Grading the New SAT Essays - This is an 11-minute interview with Noreen Duncan who has been a reader of College Board exam essays for 15 years and helped to develop the SAT essay grading criteria.  In the interview Duncan talks about grading standards, answers questions, and takes several calls from those who have taken essay tests.