To the Editor:
As someone interested in fairness, rigor and integrity in standardized testing, I am surprised by Dean of Admission Charles Deacon’s arguments against the new SAT Writing test. His three major claims against the new SAT II Writing are incorrect.
Deacon states in the article (“GU to Ignore New SAT Writing Tests,” THE HOYA, March 18, 2005, A1) that the old SAT II Writing exam was a longer and more complex tool for assessing timed writing ability than the new SAT Writing. Deacon is misinformed. The new SAT writing section is exactly the same length as the old SAT II Writing. It is also equally complex, assessing the same concepts with the same types of multiple-choice questions as the old SAT II Writing.
Deacon also agrees with two false lines of reasoning: that standardized tests only test knowledge of test-taking tricks and that they are not valuable because expensive training can improve scores.
The correlation between learning test-taking strategies and SAT scores is extremely weak. Knowledge of specialized test-taking strategies accounts for at most 15 points improvement on SAT scores. Real academic study and focus on reasoning skills at the heart of the SAT, however, regularly produces improvements of over 100 points per section.
The complaint that wealthy students have an unfair advantage because they can pay tutors to help them improve their SAT scores lacks any logical substance. Challenging academic work in college requires skills that are developed with training, and training from good teachers costs money.
It seems that Deacon is interested in helping working-class and minority students and dislikes standardized tests because they perceivably stigmatize these students. Educational equity is a real problem, but ignoring or criticizing the SAT does nothing to address this issue.
You do not help any students by pretending that SAT Writing scores don’t matter. In academics and business, writing skills count. A lot.
Christopher Black
Director, College Hill Coaching
Greenwich, Conn.
April 5, 2005
