2006, two years ago, was the first year writing was introduced to the SAT and the section included a much-dreaded essay question, amongst other segments. Writing comprised one third of the total score, and according to a press release announcing the SAT scores for the class of '06, scores fell 7 points — the biggest drop in 31 years — for the high school class of 2006, the first to take the new version of the test.
SAT FACTS - Essay Subscores
* Fewer than 1 percent of students scored a 12.
* Average score was 7.2 out of 12.
* Only 8 percent of essays were identified as using the typical five-paragraph essays.
* Half of all essays were written in the first-person voice and received an average score of 6.9 versus 7.2 for all others.
*15 percent of essays were written in cursive, while the other 85 percent were printed. Essays written in cursive received a slightly higher score (7.2 for cursive, compared to 7.0 for those printed).
Fastfoward to 2007. According to The Nation's Report Card for 2007 while writing scores have improved, only one-third of U.S. 8th graders and 25 percent of its high school seniors are proficient writers. Further, the scores for boys were lower than girls.
GIRLS VS GUYS
SAT scores in 2006, showed that girls had an average score of 502 vs. 491 for boys out of a possible 800 on the writing portion, which included multiple choice questions and an essay. Females scored an average of 7.4 and males an average of 7.1 Girls again outscored boys on the ACT college entrance exam essay, also introduced in 2006.
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