2011 essay prompt sat
A complete compilation of real SAT essay prompts administered historically by the College Board for different test periods. SAT essay prompts contain a first part which is a passage or quote, followed by a second part which is the assignment. For practice, you could write an entire essay on one of the prompts, or you could identify one historical, one literary, and one current event example that could be useful for each prompt. If you have taken a course at our center, you will remember that you should research and memorize 5 literary, 5 historical, and 5 current event examples on a variety of topics before you walk into the test. This strategy saves you valuable time and ensures your examples are detailed, accurate, and original. You are commenting using your WordPress.
SAT Essay Sample Prompt 1
The SAT was originally designed not to be aligned with high school curricula, [5] but several adjustments were made for the version of the SAT introduced in , and College Board president, David Coleman , has said that he also wanted to make the test reflect more closely what students learn in high school with the new Common Core standards.
Although taking the SAT, or its competitor the ACT , is required for freshman entry to many colleges and universities in the United States, [8] many colleges and universities are experimenting with test-optional admission requirements [9] and alternatives to the SAT and ACT.
The SAT is typically taken by high school juniors and seniors. They state that the SAT assesses how well the test-takers analyze and solve problems—skills they learned in school that they will need in college. However, the test is administered under a tight time limit speeded to help produce a range of scores.
The College Board also states that use of the SAT in combination with high school grade point average GPA provides a better indicator of success in college than high school grades alone, as measured by college freshman GPA. Various studies conducted over the lifetime of the SAT show a statistically significant increase in correlation of high school grades and college freshman grades when the SAT is factored in.
The results of this study found how well various predictor variables could explain the variance in college freshman GPA. It found that independently high school GPA could explain There are substantial differences in funding, curricula, grading, and difficulty among U. SAT and ACT scores are intended to supplement the secondary school record and help admission officers put local data—such as course work, grades, and class rank—in a national perspective.
Historically, the SAT was more widely used by students living in coastal states and the ACT was more widely used by students in the Midwest and South; in recent years, however, an increasing number of students on the East and West coasts have been taking the ACT. The test taker may optionally write an essay which, in that case, is the fifth test section. The total time for the scored portion of the SAT is three hours or three hours and fifty minutes if the optional essay section is taken.
Some test takers who are not taking the essay may also have a fifth section, which is used, at least in part, for the pretesting of questions that may appear on future administrations of the SAT.
These questions are not included in the computation of the SAT score. Section scores are reported on a scale of to , and each section score is a multiple of ten. A total score for the SAT is calculated by adding the two section scores, resulting in total scores that range from to There is no penalty for guessing on the SAT: scores are based on the number of questions answered correctly.
The essay, if taken, is scored separately from the two section scores. The Reading Test of the SAT is made up of one section with 52 questions and a time limit of 65 minutes. Tables, graphs, and charts may accompany some passages, but no math is required to correctly answer the corresponding questions.
There are five passages up to two of which may be a pair of smaller passages on the Reading Test and questions per passage or passage pair. SAT Reading passages draw from three main fields: history, social studies, and science. Answers to all of the questions are based only on the content stated in or implied by the passage or passage pair. The Writing and Language Test of the SAT is made up of one section with 44 multiple-choice questions and a time limit of 35 minutes.
The test taker will be asked to read the passages, suggest corrections or improvements for the contents underlined. Reading passages on this test range in content from topic arguments to nonfiction narratives in a variety of subjects. The skills being evaluated include: increasing the clarity of argument; improving word choice; improving analysis of topics in social studies and science; changing sentence or word structure to increase organizational quality and impact of writing; and, fixing or improving sentence structure, word usage, and punctuation.
In total, the SAT math test is 80 minutes long and includes 58 questions: 45 multiple choice questions and 13 grid-in questions. Several scores are provided to the test taker for the math test. A subscore on a scale of 1 to 15 is reported for each of three categories of math content: "Heart of Algebra" linear equations, systems of linear equations, and linear functions , "Problem Solving and Data Analysis" statistics, modeling, and problem-solving skills , and "Passport to Advanced Math" non-linear expressions, radicals, exponentials and other topics that form the basis of more advanced math.
A test score for the math test is reported on a scale of 10 to 40, with an increment of 0. All four-function calculators are allowed as well; however, these devices are not recommended.
All mobile phone and smartphone calculators, calculators with typewriter-like QWERTY keyboards, laptops and other portable computers, and calculators capable of accessing the Internet are not permitted. The study found that performance on the math section was associated with the extent of calculator use: those using calculators on about one third to one half of the items averaged higher scores than those using calculators more or less frequently.
However, the effect was "more likely to have been the result of able students using calculators differently than less able students rather than calculator use per se. Most of the questions on the SAT, except for the optional essay and the grid-in math responses, are multiple choice ; all multiple-choice questions have four answer choices, one of which is correct.
All questions on each section of the SAT are weighted equally. For each correct answer, one raw point is added. The final score is derived from the raw score; the precise conversion chart varies between test administrations. The test is typically offered on the first Saturday of the month for the October, November, December, May, and June administrations.
Candidates wishing to take the test may register online at the College Board's website or by mail at least three weeks before the test date. Additional fees apply for late registration, standby testing, registration changes, scores by telephone, and extra score reports beyond the four provided for free. Students with verifiable disabilities, including physical and learning disabilities, are eligible to take the SAT with accommodations. Students receive their online score reports approximately two to three weeks after test administration longer for mailed, paper scores.
In addition, students receive two percentile scores, each of which is defined by the College Board as the percentage of students in a comparison group with equal or lower test scores. One of the percentiles, called the "Nationally Representative Sample Percentile", uses as a comparison group all 11th and 12th graders in the United States, regardless of whether or not they took the SAT.
This percentile is theoretical and is derived using methods of statistical inference. For example, for the school year , the SAT User Percentile was based on the test scores of students in the graduating classes of and who took the SAT specifically, the revision during high school.
Students receive both types of percentiles for their total score as well as their section scores. The following chart summarizes the original percentiles used for the version of the SAT administered in March through January These percentiles used students in the graduating class of as the comparison group. The version of the SAT administered before April had a very high ceiling. In any given year, only seven of the million test-takers scored above A score above was equivalent to the In the average score for the Class of was out of a maximum That was down 7 points from the previous class's mark and was the lowest composite score of the past decade.
Tables were provided to concord scores for students taking the SAT after January and before March In , the College Board, in partnership with the ACT, introduced a new concordance table to better compare how a student would fare one test to another.
Many college entrance exams in the early 20th century were specific to each school and required candidates to travel to the school to take the tests. The College Board , a consortium of colleges in the northeastern United States , was formed in to establish a nationally administered, uniform set of essay tests based on the curricula of the boarding schools that typically provided graduates to the colleges of the Ivy League and Seven Sisters , among others.
In the same time period, Lewis Terman and others began to promote the use of tests such as Alfred Binet 's in American schools. Terman in particular thought that such tests could identify an innate " intelligence quotient " IQ in a person. The results of an IQ test could then be used to find an elite group of students who would be given the chance to finish high school and go on to college.
The commission, headed by eugenicist Carl Brigham , argued that the test predicted success in higher education by identifying candidates primarily on the basis of intellectual promise rather than on specific accomplishment in high school subjects.
He advanced this theory of standardized testing as a means of upholding racial purity in his book A Study of American Intelligence. The tests, he wrote, would prove the racial superiority of white Americans and prevent 'the continued propagation of defective strains in the present population'—chiefly, the 'infiltration of white blood into the Negro. Specifically, Conant wanted to find students, other than those from the traditional northeastern private schools, that could do well at Harvard.
The success of the scholarship program and the advent of World War II led to the end of the College Board essay exams and to the SAT being used as the only admissions test for College Board member colleges.
Machine-based scoring of multiple-choice tests taken by pencil had made it possible to rapidly process the exams. Bill produced an influx of millions of veterans into higher education.
Brigham felt that the interests of a consolidated testing agency would be more aligned with sales or marketing than with research into the science of testing. On June 17, , the first exams of the College Board were administered to students across 67 locations in the United States, and two in Europe. Although those taking the test came from a variety of backgrounds, approximately one third were from New York , New Jersey , or Pennsylvania.
The majority of those taking the test were from private schools, academies, or endowed schools. The test contained sections on English , French , German , Latin , Greek , history , geography , political science , biology , mathematics , chemistry , and physics. The test was not multiple choice, but instead was evaluated based on essay responses as "excellent", "good", "doubtful", "poor" or "very poor". It was administered to over 8, students at over test centers. Slightly over a quarter of males and females applied to Yale University and Smith College.
This scale was effectively equivalent to a to scale, although students could score more than and less than In , the number of sections on the SAT was reduced to seven, and the time limit was increased to slightly under two hours. In , the number of sections was again reduced, this time to six. These changes were designed in part to give test-takers more time per question.
For these two years, all of the sections tested verbal ability: math was eliminated entirely from the SAT. In the SAT was first split into the verbal and math sections, a structure that would continue through The verbal section of the test covered a more narrow range of content than its predecessors, examining only antonyms, double definitions somewhat similar to sentence completions , and paragraph reading.
In , analogies were re-added. Between and , students had between 80 and minutes to answer verbal questions over a third of which were on antonyms. The mathematics test introduced in contained free response questions to be answered in 80 minutes, and focused primarily on speed. From to , like the and tests, the mathematics section was eliminated entirely. When the mathematics portion of the test was re-added in , it consisted of multiple choice questions.
Until , the scores on all SATs had been scaled to a mean of with a standard deviation of Although one test-taker could be compared to another for a given test date, comparisons from one year to another could not be made. For example, a score of achieved on an SAT taken in one year could reflect a different ability level than a score of achieved in another year. By , it had become clear that setting the mean SAT score to every year was unfair to those students who happened to take the SAT with a group of higher average ability.
In order to make cross-year score comparisons possible, in April the SAT verbal section was scaled to a mean of , and a standard deviation of , and the June SAT verbal section was equated linked to the April test. All SAT verbal sections after were equated to previous tests so that the same scores on different SATs would be comparable. Similarly, in June the SAT math section was equated to the April math section, which itself was linked to the SAT verbal section, and all SAT math sections after would be equated to previous tests.
A collection of the SAT essay prompts or questions from March till the most recent SAT released by College Board. SAT essay questions , A collection of the SAT essay prompts or questions from March till the most recent SAT released by College Board.
The SAT was originally designed not to be aligned with high school curricula, [5] but several adjustments were made for the version of the SAT introduced in , and College Board president, David Coleman , has said that he also wanted to make the test reflect more closely what students learn in high school with the new Common Core standards. Although taking the SAT, or its competitor the ACT , is required for freshman entry to many colleges and universities in the United States, [8] many colleges and universities are experimenting with test-optional admission requirements [9] and alternatives to the SAT and ACT. The SAT is typically taken by high school juniors and seniors. They state that the SAT assesses how well the test-takers analyze and solve problems—skills they learned in school that they will need in college. However, the test is administered under a tight time limit speeded to help produce a range of scores.
If you took the Jaunary SAT, you would have been given one of the essay prompts below:.
You have 50 minutes to read the passage and write an essay in response to the prompt that is provided. Adapted from Henryk A.
SAT Essay Prompts - January 2011
If you took the December SAT, you would have been given one of the essay prompts below:. The pressures to conform in a modern free society are not as drastic as they were in the past, when failure to conform meant imprisonment or worse. Such influences are, however, more dangerous because they are hard to detect. These are the pressures to live like our neighbors, to think like our community, to reshape ourselves in the image of someone else. The appeal of belonging to a group is attractive, but doesn't such conformity destroy our individuality? Is it always harmful for an individual to think and live as other people do?
October 2011 - SAT Essay Prompts
To send your scores, old or new, to colleges and scholarship providers, go to Sending Scores. Sign in to view scores. When you registered for the test or afterward, you told us which colleges or scholarship programs you wanted us to send your scores to. So will your high school. Although most scores are available on the first score release day, a small percentage might not be. If your scores fall in this small percentage, you will see a message instructing you to check back at a later date. Scores may be released later for reasons that include a late receipt of answer sheets, missing information on your answer sheet, information that is inconsistent with your registration information, or other uncommon conditions that flag your test for more attention. Also, if you took a makeup test later than the actual test day, your scores will be released later. We understand that it can be frustrating if you don't see your scores when you're expecting them, and we appreciate your patience. Your paper score report will be provided to your high school.
But we fail to realize that freedom comes only through discipline.
SAT Suite of Assessments. SAT Essay Scoring. Two different people will read and score your essay. Each scorer awards 1—4 points for each dimension: reading, analysis, and writing.
A response to the infamous “reality television” SAT essay prompt
These shows depict ordinary people competing in everything from singing and dancing to losing weight, or just living their everyday lives. Most people believe that the reality these shows portray is authentic, but they are being misled. How authentic can these shows be when producers design challenges for the participants and then editors alter filmed scenes? Part of the problem is that many people unfamiliar with the SAT are unaware of the difference in importance between the background to the prompt and the prompt itself in bold. The background is designed to explain the question, to put it in some context; it is not intended to limit the kind of responses that test-takers can provide. In fact, it can be ignored completely with no ill consequences. If the background consists of a quote by a famous physicist, for example, students are not expected to know anything about physics to answer the question. The same holds true here. It of course lends itself quite well to examples about reality TV, but not to the exclusion of other examples, even literary or historical ones. No one ever harangued the SAT for pandering to kids who do a lot of community service on the one hand or a lot of art on the other. So yes, obviously someone who spends a lot of time watching reality TV is going to have more examples immediately spring to mind than someone who barely watches television.
