SAT Essay Scores Explained

SAT Essay scores for the new SAT are confusing to interpret, in part, because the College Board has intentionally given them little context. By combining College Board and student data, Compass has produced a way for students to judge essay performance, and we  answer many of the common questions about the essay. Why are there no percentiles for the essay on an SAT score report? No percentiles or norms are provided in student reports. Even colleges do not receive any summary statistics. Given Compass’ concerns about the inaccuracy of essay scoring and the notable failures of the ACT on that front, the de-emphasis of norms would seem to be a good thing. The problem is that 10% of colleges are sticking with the SAT Essay as an admission requirement. While those colleges will not receive score distribution reports from the College Board, it is not difficult for them to construct their own statisticsofficially or unofficiallybased on thousands of applicants. Colleges can determine a â€Å"good score,† but students cannot. This asymmetry of information is harmful to students, as they are left to speculate how well they have performed and how their scores will be interpreted. Through our analysis, Compass hopes to provide students and parents more context for evaluating SAT Essay scores. How has scoring changed? Is it still part of a students Total Score? On the old SAT, the essay was a required component of the Writing section and made up approximately one-third of a student’s 200800 score. The essay score itself was simply the sum (212) of two readers’ 16 scores. Readers were expected to grade holistically and not to focus on individual components of the writing. The SAT essay came under a great deal of criticism for being too loosely structured. Factual accuracy was not required; it was not that difficult to make pre-fabricated material fit the prompt; many colleges found the 212 essay scores of little use; and the conflation of the essay and â€Å"Writing† was, in some cases, blocking the use of the SAT Writing scorewhich included grammar and usageentirely. With the 2016 overhaul of the SAT came an attempt to make the essay more academically defensible while also making it optional (as the ACT essay had long been). The essay score is not a part of the 4001600 score. Instead, a student opting to take the SAT Essay receives 28 scores in three dimensions: reading, analysis, and writing. No equating or fancy lookup table is involved. The scores are simply the sum of two readers’ 14 ratings in each dimension. There is no official totaling or averaging of scores, although colleges may choose to do so. Readers avoid extremes What is almost universally true about grading of standardized test essays is that readers gravitate to the middle of the scale. The default instinct is to nudge a score above or below a perceived cutoff or midpoint rather than to evenly distribute scores. When the only options are 1, 2, 3, or 4, the consequence is predictablereaders give out a lot of 2s and 3s and very few 1s and 4s. In fact, our analysis shows that 80% of all reader scores are 2s or 3s. This, in turn, means that most of the dimension  scores (the sum of the two readers) range from 4 to 6. Analysis scores are outliers. A third of readers give essays a 1 in Analysis. Below is the distribution of reader scores across all dimensions. What is a good SAT Essay score? By combining multiple data sourcesincluding extensive College Board scoring informationCompass  has estimated the mean and mode (most common) essay scores for students at various score levels. We also found that the reading and writing dimensions were similar, while analysis scores lagged by a point across all sub-groups. These figures should not be viewed as cutoffs for â€Å"good† scores. The loose correlation of essay score to Total Score and the high standard deviation of essay scores means that students at all levels see wide variation of scores. The average essay-taking student scores a 1,080 on the SAT and receives just under a 5/4/5. We would advise students to use these results only as broad benchmarks. It would not be at all unusual to score  a point below these means. Scores that are consistently 2 or more points below the means may be more of a concern. College Board recently released essay results for the class of 2017, so score distributions are now available. From these, percentiles can also be calculated. We provide these figures with mixed feelings. On the one hand, percentile scores on such an imperfect measure can be highly misleading. On the other hand, we feel that students should understand the full workings of essay scores. The role of luck What is frustrating to many students on the SAT and ACT is that they can score 98th percentile in most areas and then get a â€Å"middling† score on the essay. This result is actually quite predictable. Whereas math and verbal scores are the result of dozens of objective questions, the essay is a single question graded subjectively. To replace statistical concepts with a colloquial onefar more â€Å"luck† is involved than on the multiple-choice sections. What text is used in the essay stimulus? How well will the student respond to the style and subject matter? Which of the hundreds of readers were assigned to grade the student’s essay? What other essays has the reader recently scored? Even good writers run into the unpredictability involved and the fact that essay readers give so few high scores. A 5 means that the Readers A and B gave the essay  a 2 and a 3, respectively. Which reader was â€Å"right?† If the essay  had encountered two readers like Reader A, it  would have received a 4. If the  essay had been given two readers like Reader B, it  would have received a 6. That swing makes a large difference if we judge scores exclusively by percentiles, but essay scores are simply too blurry to make such cut-and-dry distinctions. More than 80% of students receive one of three scores4, 5, or 6 on the reading and writing dimensions and 3, 4, or 5 on analysis. What do colleges expect? It’s unlikely that many colleges will release a breakdown of essay scores for admitted studentsespecially since so few are requiring it. What we know from experience with the ACT, though, is that even at the most competitive schools in the country, the 25th75th percentile scores of admitted students were 810 on the ACT’s old 212 score range. We expect that things will play out similarly for the SAT and that most students admitted to highly selective colleges will have domain scores in the 57 range (possibly closer to 46 for analysis). It’s even less likely for students to average a high score across all three areas than it is to obtain a single high mark. We estimate that only a fraction of a percent of students will average an 8for example [8/8/8, 7/8/8, 8/7/8, or 8,8,7]. Update as of October 2017. The University of California system has published the 25th75th percentile ranges for enrolled students. It has chosen to work with total scores. The highest rangesincluding those at UCLA and Berkeleyare 1720. Those scores are inline with our estimates above. How will colleges use the domain scores? Colleges have been given no guidance by College Board on how to use essay scores for admission. Will they sum the scores? Will they average them? Will they value certain areas over others? Chances are that if you are worrying too much about those questions, then you are likely losing sight of the bigger picture. We know of no cases where admission committees will make formulaic use of essay scores. The scores are a very small, very error-prone part of a student’s testing portfolio. How low is too low? Are 3s  and 4s, then, low enough that an otherwise high-scoring student should retest? There is no one-size-fits-all answer to that question. In general, it is a mistake to retest solely to improve an essay score unless a student is confident that the SAT Total Score can be maintained or improved. A student with a 1340 PSAT and 1280 SAT may feel that it is worthwhile to bring up low essay scores because she  has previously shown that she can do better on the Evidence-based Reading and Writing  and Math, as well. A student with a 1400 PSAT and 1540 SAT should think long and hard before committing to a retest. Admission results from the class of 2017 may give us some added insight into the use of SAT Essay scores. Will colleges continue to require the SAT Essay? For the class of 2017, Compass has prepared a list of the SAT Essay and ACT Writing policies for 360 of the top colleges. Several of the largest and most prestigious public university systemsCalifornia, Michigan, and Texas, for example, still require the essay, and a number of highly competitive private colleges do the samefor example, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford. The number of excellent colleges not requiring the SAT Essay, though, is long and getting longer. Compass expects even more colleges to drop the essay requirement for the classes of 2018 and 2019. Policies are typically finalized in late spring or during the summer. Should I skip the essay entirely? A common question regarding SAT scores is whether the whole mess can be avoided by skipping the essay. After all, if only about 10% of colleges are requiring the section, is it really that important? Despite serious misgivings about the test and the ways scores are interpreted, Compass still recommends that most students take the essay unless they are certain that they will not be applying to any of the colleges requiring or recommending it. Nationally, about 70% of students choose to take the essay on at least one SAT administration. When looking at higher scoring segments, that quickly rises to 8590%. Almost all Compass students take the SAT Essay at least once to insure that they do not miss out on educational opportunities. Should I prepare for the SAT Essay? Most Compass students decide to do some preparation for the essay, because taking any part of a test â€Å"cold† can be an unpleasant experience, and students want to avoid feeling like a retake is necessary. In addition to practicing exercises and tests, most students can perform well enough on the SAT Essay after 12 hours of tutoring. Students taking a Compass practice SAT will also receive a scored essay. Students interested in essay writing tips for the SAT can refer to Compass blog posts on the difference between the ACT and SAT tasks  and the use of first person on the essays. Will I be able to see my essay? Yes. ACT makes it difficult to obtain a copy of your Writing essay, but College Board includes it as part of your online report. Will colleges have access to my essay? Even if they don’t require it? Yes, colleges are provided with student essays. We know of very few circumstances where SAT Essay reading is regularly conducted. Colleges that do not require the SAT Essay fall into the â€Å"consider† and â€Å"do not consider† camps. Schools do not always list this policy on their website or in their application materials, so it is hard to have a comprehensive list. We recommend contacting colleges for more information. In general, the essay will have little to no impact at colleges that do not require or recommend it. Is the SAT Essay a reason to take the ACT instead? Almost all colleges that require the SAT Essay require Writing for ACT-takers. The essays are very different on the two tests, but neither can be said to be universally â€Å"easier† or â€Å"harder.† Compass recommends that the primary sections of the tests determine your planning. Compass content  experts have also written a piece on how to attack the ACT essay. Key links in this post: ACT and SAT essay requirements ACT Writing scores explained Comparing ACT and SAT essay tasks The use of first person in ACT  and SAT essays Understanding the audience and purpose of the ACT essay Compass proctored practice testing for the ACT, SAT, and Subject Tests