What's the Purpose of the SAT Writing Test?

Teachers across the country are frustrated with the seemingly constant tests that we require our students to take. My seniors seem to be trapped in a never-ending spiral of college admissions tests. This isn't new. In fact, most of their parents also spent at least one Saturday morning many years ago confined to a high school gym or another testing site so they could take the SAT or ACT.

While I may have complaints about these admissions tests, for the most part I just accept that they are a necessary evil for students who want to attend college, and I try to help prepare students to take the tests.

For the life of me, however, I cannot figure out the SAT Writing test, the test that was added to the SAT a few years ago.

The test should be easy for my students. They are presented with a quotation or prompt and given 25 minutes to write a 2-page paper. For Advanced Placement students who routinely write a 40-minute timed writing once each week, the SAT Writing test should be simple.

Simple!

So simple that after practicing AP timed writings for ten weeks, my students' SAT Writing scores are just as likely to go down as up.

How is this possible? How valid is a test when students who score 5s (highest score) on the AP English Language and Composition test make only average scores on the SAT Writing Test? What does it mean when many of my best writers make lower scores than some of my weaker writers?

When students have trouble with critical reading passages or vocabulary sections or grammar exercises, I know what to do.

I have no idea how to help students increase their SAT Writing scores.

Since students are not allowed to discuss their writing prompts or the papers they write, we can't even discuss what they could have done to improve.

In the end, all I can do is rely on the advice that my best students share with each other. These outstanding students have surmised that if they want to make high scores on the SAT Writing exam they need to write like ninth graders with a formulaic five-paragraph paper and make up facts and statistics. They are convinced that students are punished for creativity and rewarded for common papers completely devoid of style, personality, and voice.

Is this really what we want to teach students?