Should your SAT essay be written in cursive?

There's been a lot of talk about the new SAT essay question, which asks test-takers to plan and hand write an essay in just 25-minutes.  Amidst all the heavy discourse, here's a lighter fun fact that was published in the Washington Post:

Of the 1.5 million students who have answered the SAT's new handwritten essay, only 15% submitted their essay in cursive.

As a group, the cursive writers had a slightly higher average score than the printers.  Is this because the SAT readers prefer cursive?  Not necessarily.  According to the article, studies have shown that students who write in cursive tend to be better at expressing their thoughts and can do so more quickly. 

Still, in an age of keyboards and text messages, many educators feel that time spent teaching penmanship should be very low on the list of educational priorities.  Others argue that the related cognitive skills are worth 15 minutes a day, and site the historical value and intimacy of handwritten communication as further argument for continuing to teach handwriting.

How about you?  Do you write in cursive?  block print?  Do any of your teachers require you to submit your work in cursive or print, or do they prefer your papers to be typed?  Do you think that being able to write in cursive is of any value in the digital age?

Read the full article "The Handwriting Is on the Wall, by Margaret Webb Pressler, and let us know what you think. 

Are you feeling the stress?

According to a National Public Radio segment titled School, Study, SATs: No wonder Teens Are Stressed if you are feeling overstressed and overscheduled you are not alone.  The highly competitive college admissions process is increasingly taking its toll on teenagers preparing for college.

According to NPR, "To help teenagers cope, the American Academy of Pediatrics is launching a new Web site where teens can go and design their own stress-reduction plans, described by the doctors as a “prescription for balance.”

If you are feeling the pressure of academic and extra-curricular demands of your life, here are the steps the site recommends for reducing your stress:

Point 1: Figure out what the problem is and make it manageable.

Point 2: Avoid things that bring you down.

Point 3: Let some things go.

Knowing how to successfully manage and reduce the stress in your life is an important skill.  The pressures of high school and college admissions will eventually end.  College studies, work, family, and the bumps and tumbles of life will introduce new pressures.  Learning the skills you need to manage stress now will help you for years to come.

Which SAT question is worth 10% of your score?

Open up any SAT test booklet and the first section you see will be the written essay.  Your essay score represents approximately one-third of your Writing score, which means that this one question actually represents 10% of your overall SAT score!

The criteria used to judge the SAT essay are not a secret.  The College Board publishes both the grading criteria (known as the "scoring rubric") and the guidelines by which readers are told to evaluate the SAT essays they review.  And, the standards the readers apply to your SAT essay are not unlike those your college professors will use to evaluate your writing in college. 

At BTP we focus on helping you to strengthen your ability to write a logical and precise essay, using the accepted academic format (introduction, thesis sentence, body paragraphs, and conclusion).  We've created a step-by-step tutorial for guiding you through the process.  We also focus a lot of attention on helping you to learn to think like a reader.  Once you understand how your writing will be evaluated, you will know how to write a high-scoring essay. 

Take the time you need to develop this skill.  Not only will it serve you well in college, but it could also increase your overall score by more than 100 points!

What's the SAT all about?

Ever looked for answers for the following questions?

1. What is the SAT?
2. Does Boston Test Prep give the SAT?
3. How do I register for the SAT?
4. Who is the College Board?
5. What does the BTP Program include? And what’s with the payment plans?

Well, look no further than the Boston Test Prep Home Page.

Check it out!

-Mikki

How is my SAT score calculated?

The SAT tests your ability in three general areas – Math, Critical Reading, and Writing – and for each area you receive a score of between 200 and 800 points. 

These scores are then added to derive your overall SAT score, which will be somewhere between 600 and 2400 points – with 2400 being a perfect score and 600 being the lowest score possible. 

But how are these scores actually calculated?

When you open your test booklet on test day, it will contain 10 sections.  Three of the sections will contain Math questions, three will contain critical reading questions, 3 will contain writing questions, and 1 section will be an experimental section. (Note: the experimental section is not included in your score.)

Awarding Points - When your answer sheet is scored, you will receive one point for every question you answer correct, you will lose ¼ of a point for every question you answer incorrectly.  If you skip a question, or if you answer a grid-in question incorrectly, you will neither earn nor lose points.

Calculating Your Raw Score - When the College Board calculates your SAT score, they begin by calculating your RAW SCORE for each area. For instance, the raw score for each of the Critical Reading sections is calculated, and then the three section scores are added to determine your total Raw Score for Critical Reading. (On a test containing 67 Critical Reading questions, a raw score might be as low as  –16.75 or as high as +67.00 points). 

Calculating your SAT Score - To calculate your SAT Score, your Raw Score is then converted to a scaled score of between 200 and 800 points, using a conversion table specific to the version of the SAT test you took.  (At any given SAT testing location, there will be multiple versions of the test handed out to students taking the test.  This means that the test you are taking will not be identical to the test that the person next to you is taking, so there is a conversion table specific to each version.) 

Maximizing Raw Points - The key thing to remember is that improving your Raw Score will improve your SAT score.  Your goal should be to study and practice so you can learn to maximize the points you earn, while minimizing the points lost or missed. 

Keep these tips in mind:

• To do well on the SAT, you don’t need to answer every question, but you do need to answer questions correctly to earn points.
• You lose points for incorrect answers, so a) avoid making careless errors and b) don’t “guess” unless you are certain that at least one of the answer choices provided is incorrect and can eliminate it.
• Learn how different sections of the SAT are organized so you can answer the easy questions first to maximize points.

Remember, you don’t need to answer every question on the SAT to score well.  In fact, unless you are striving to score a perfect 2400 on the SAT you should NOT try to answer every question.  Instead, you should work to maximize your raw points by correctly answering the questions you can and by avoiding incorrect answers and careless errors. 

Do I really get 200 points just for filling in my name?

Perhaps the most common misconception about the SAT is the belief that you earn 200 points automatically for filling in your name correctly.  This is a myth. 

The SAT tests your ability in three general areas – Math, Critical Reading, and Writing.  For each area you receive a score of between 200 and 800 points. 

These scores are then added to derive your overall SAT score, which will be somewhere between 600 and 2400 points – with 2400 being a perfect score and 600 being the lowest score possible. 

	Lowest	Highest
MATH	200	800
READING	200	800
WRITING	200	800
TOTAL	600	2,400

So, if the only thing you do is fill in your name, you will still receive a score of 600 points (which is basically the same as getting a “zero” on a test in school). The points aren’t awarded for “writing your name,” it's just that a 600 is the lowest score you can receive.

Where do I find out specific information for the SAT?

When are the SAT exams? Where can I register for the SAT? Where can I find my grades for the SAT exam?

This is a great place to start: http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/about.html

We can help answer questions about BTP online prep for the SAT but when it comes to specific questions you or your parents may have about the actual exam, the best resource is the College Board's website.

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.