Humorous Comments on the SAT Essay Controversy
March 21, 2011. Do you think reality shows should be the subject of an SAT Essay Test? Whether or not you agree, the answer is: they already are! The reality show essay question has created a fascinating controversy–read more about it in the Essay Coaching Facebook page Saturday, March 19, 2011 posting.
The head of the College Board defended the reality show essay question in the Daily Beast.
Two days later, like all news, the SAT essay question has become the fodder for humor. First, I received this email from my colleague and Solving the College Admissions Puzzle: A Guide for Students and Families About College Selection, Essay Writing and High-Stakes Testing co-author John Boshoven, Counselor for Continuing Education at Community High School in Ann Arbor:
This morning the radio blared an advertisement for an on-line college “matching” service. “We will match you to the internet college that fits you best.” Sounds like the perfect match for the reality show essay question recently posed by the College Board. Or better yet, why not just match students by DNA to the colleges that best match their chromosomes. In an effort to make the SAT appear more relevant and “hip,” I hope colleges will continue the trend to find these standardized tests less and less relevant to finding the right students for their campuses.
Now, the Huffington Post has weighed in with a wonderfully humorous suggested listing of additional SAT essay questions. Any more suggestions?