Decoding the Combined Essay Score on the SAT

The SAT essay, a component of the SAT exam, has undergone significant changes, leading to potential confusion in interpreting scores. This article seeks to clarify the structure, scoring, and implications of the combined essay score on the SAT.

Introduction

The SAT essay was designed to assess a student's reading, analysis, and writing skills. Unlike the old SAT, where the essay was a required part of the Writing section, the redesigned SAT made the essay optional. While the College Board provides scores, it offers little context, such as percentiles or norms, making it difficult for students to gauge their performance. This article aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the combined essay score, its significance, and how it might be viewed by colleges.

The Evolution of SAT Essay Scoring

On the old SAT, the essay was a required component of the Writing section and made up approximately one-third of a student’s 200-800 score. The essay score itself was simply the sum (2-12) of two readers’ 1-6 scores. Readers were expected to grade holistically and not to focus on individual components of the writing. The SAT essay came under a great deal of criticism for being too loosely structured.

With the 2016 overhaul of the SAT came an attempt to make the essay more academically defensible while also making it optional (as the ACT essay had long been). The essay score is not a part of the 400-1600 score. Instead, a student opting to take the SAT Essay receives 2-8 scores in three dimensions: reading, analysis, and writing. No equating or fancy lookup table is involved. The scores are simply the sum of two readers’ 1-4 ratings in each dimension.

Understanding the Scoring Dimensions

The SAT Essay is scored across three dimensions: Reading, Analysis, and Writing. Each dimension is scored from 1 to 4 by two readers, resulting in a score range of 2 to 8 for each dimension.

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Reading: This section assesses how well the student understood the passage, including the interplay of central ideas and important details. A successful essay shows that you understood the passage, including the interplay of central ideas and important details.
Analysis: This measures the student's ability to comprehend the point that the passage makes. Analyzing the passage does not mean simply stating what the passage is about. It’s also not about agreeing, disagreeing, or sharing your personal opinion about the content. It requires identifying and understanding the author's opinion, and explaining why the author thinks this way, while remaining objective.
Writing: This evaluates the clarity, organization, and overall quality of the essay.

Summed together, this means your score can range between 2 and 8 for each area. Logically, it would seem that the average SAT essay score in each domain should be a 5 (since that's halfway between 2 and 8).

Score Distribution and Interpretation

What is almost universally true about grading of standardized test essays is that readers gravitate to the middle of the scale. The default instinct is to nudge a score above or below a perceived cutoff or midpoint rather than to evenly distribute scores. When the only options are 1, 2, 3, or 4, the consequence is predictable-readers give out a lot of 2s and 3s and very few 1s and 4s. In fact, analysis shows that 80% of all reader scores are 2s or 3s. This, in turn, means that most of the dimension scores (the sum of the two readers) range from 4 to 6.

Analysis scores are outliers. A third of readers give essays a 1 in Analysis. By combining multiple data sources-including extensive College Board scoring information-Compass has estimated the mean and mode (most common) essay scores for students at various score levels. We also found that the reading and writing dimensions were similar, while analysis scores lagged by a point across all sub-groups. These figures should not be viewed as cutoffs for “good” scores. The loose correlation of essay score to Total Score and the high standard deviation of essay scores means that students at all levels see wide variation of scores. We would advise students to use these results only as broad benchmarks. It would not be at all unusual to score a point below these means.

Because of the different trends for Analysis scores on the SAT essay, an Analysis score of a 6 or above puts you well above average; a score of 3-5 is solidly middle of the pack; and a score of 2 is low.

The Role of Luck and Reader Variability

What is frustrating to many students on the SAT and ACT is that they can score 98th percentile in most areas and then get a “middling” score on the essay. This result is actually quite predictable. Whereas math and verbal scores are the result of dozens of objective questions, the essay is a single question graded subjectively. To replace statistical concepts with a colloquial one-far more “luck” is involved than on the multiple-choice sections. What text is used in the essay stimulus? How well will the student respond to the style and subject matter? Which of the hundreds of readers were assigned to grade the student’s essay? Even good writers run into the unpredictability involved and the fact that essay readers give so few high scores.

A 5 means that the Readers A and B gave the essay a 2 and a 3, respectively. Which reader was “right?” If the essay had encountered two readers like Reader A, it would have received a 4. If the essay had been given two readers like Reader B, it would have received a 6. That swing makes a large difference if we judge scores exclusively by percentiles, but essay scores are simply too blurry to make such cut-and-dry distinctions.

College Board's Data on Essay Scores

College Board recently released essay results for the class of 2017, so score distributions are now available. From these, percentiles can also be calculated. College Board has provided some data on score distributions, allowing for percentile calculations.

From this chart, we can see that there's the same general trend for the numbers of students who got various Reading and Writing scores, while there's something quite different going on with Analysis scores. If you compare the graphs for the distribution of Reading and Writing scores, you'll see a striking similarity between them when it comes to how many students got each score on Reading and Writing. Things are a little murkier when it comes to the Analysis essay scores. In contrast to the trend for Reading and Writing scores, Analysis scores are heavily skewed toward the bottom of the scale.

College Perspectives on Essay Scores

Colleges have been given no guidance by College Board on how to use essay scores for admission. Will they sum the scores? Will they average them? Will they value certain areas over others? Chances are that if you are worrying too much about those questions, then you are likely losing sight of the bigger picture. We know of no cases where admission committees will make formulaic use of essay scores.

It’s unlikely that many colleges will release a breakdown of essay scores for admitted students-especially since so few are requiring it. What we know from experience with the ACT, though, is that even at the most competitive schools in the country, the 25th-75th percentile scores of admitted students were 8-10 on the ACT’s old 2-12 score range. We expect that things will play out similarly for the SAT and that most students admitted to highly selective colleges will have domain scores in the 5-7 range (possibly closer to 4-6 for analysis). It’s even less likely for students to average a high score across all three areas than it is to obtain a single high mark.

When colleges look at your SAT scores, however, they usually won't look at your essay scores all by themselves. Most schools look at your overall SAT score first, your Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and Math scores next, and your essay scores last (if they care about your SAT essay scores at all).

To Retest or Not To Retest?

Are 3s and 4s, then, low enough that an otherwise high-scoring student should retest? There is no one-size-fits-all answer to that question. In general, it is a mistake to retest solely to improve an essay score unless a student is confident that the SAT Total Score can be maintained or improved. A student with a 1340 PSAT and 1280 SAT may feel that it is worthwhile to bring up low essay scores because she has previously shown that she can do better on the Evidence-based Reading and Writing and Math, as well. A student with a 1400 PSAT and 1540 SAT should think long and hard before committing to a retest.

The Importance of the SAT Essay

A common question regarding SAT scores is whether the whole mess can be avoided by skipping the essay. After all, if only about 10% of colleges are requiring the section, is it really that important? Despite serious misgivings about the test and the ways scores are interpreted, Compass still recommends that most students take the essay unless they are certain that they will not be applying to any of the colleges requiring or recommending it. Nationally, about 70% of students choose to take the essay on at least one SAT administration. When looking at higher scoring segments, that quickly rises to 85-90%. Most Compass students decide to do some preparation for the essay, because taking any part of a test “cold” can be an unpleasant experience, and students want to avoid feeling like a retake is necessary. In addition to practicing exercises and tests, most students can perform well enough on the SAT Essay after 1-2 hours of tutoring. Students taking a Compass practice SAT will also receive a scored essay.

SAT Essay: To Take or Not to Take?

With the redesigned SAT, the essay component is optional. You can choose to take the SAT with or without the essay. This may sound appealing to most students. After all, why take an additional test if you have the option not to? Moreover, not all colleges require the essay portion. Before rushing into any decisions, there’s something you should know. Some schools may not require you to complete the SAT essay, but others do. How does this affect you? If you decide not to complete the essay component, you won’t be eligible to apply to colleges that require it. How much of an impact will this be to you? Should you take a gamble and opt-out of the essay section? That depends entirely on you. If you are very particular about which schools you want to attend, you don’t want to limit your options. One way to protect your best interests is to do your college search first. Find out if those you are interested in applying to require applicants to complete the SAT essay. If they do, you have no option but to complete this section. If they don’t, we still recommend that you complete it anyway, as it will boost your application.

Sending Your Scores to Colleges

College Board allows you to choose which day’s test score to send to your shortlisted schools. Once you’ve made your choice, all the scores of that test are sent in one complete report. You cannot break up the report and only send select high scores. It is important to remember that different schools have different score check policies. Some allow you to send only your best score, while others want to see the scores from all the tests you’ve taken.

How to Excel on the SAT Essay

Understand the Passage: In the SAT essay section, you are given one passage of about 650 - 750 words. Analyzing the passage does not mean simply stating what the passage is about. It’s also not about agreeing, disagreeing, or sharing your personal opinion about the content.
Be Objective: What you are required to do is first identify the point that the passage makes. Let’s say the topic of your passage is, “Global warming isn’t as dire as environmentalists claim it is.” The passage then provides a compelling explanation about why the author thinks this way. Now, you may be passionate about this topic and agree or disagree with this statement. However, you must be very careful not to share your opinions for or against this argument. Don’t get carried away with the information presented or your feelings on this topic. Be objective.
Use Examples from the Passage: You can use examples to support your essay. In fact, you should use examples, but these must be extracted from the passage itself.
Practice: Want to practice? There are 3 practice Essay tests. Once you submit your response, go to MyPractice.Collegeboard.org, where you’ll see your essay, a scoring guide and rubric so that you can score yourself, and student samples for various scores to compare your self-score with a student at the same level.
Seek Personalized Feedback: Finally, if you think you'd benefit from more personalized feedback on your essay writing, you might want to try out PrepScholar SAT.

Where to Find More Information

Start by reading our collection of SAT essay blog articles. I recommend starting with our introduction to the new SAT essay prompts, our SAT essay tips article, and our explanation of the SAT essay rubric. Next, follow along as I write an SAT essay, step-by-step. For further help, you can take a look at how to create your own SAT essay templates and how to get a perfect 8/8/8 score on the SAT essay.

The End of the SAT Essay

In January 2021, the College Board announced that after June 2021, it would no longer offer the Essay portion of the SAT (except at schools who opt in during School Day Testing). While most colleges had already made SAT Essay scores optional, this move by the College Board means no colleges now require the SAT Essay. What does the end of the SAT Essay mean for your college applications?

Conclusion

The SAT essay score is a multifaceted assessment of a student's reading, analysis, and writing abilities. While its importance in college admissions has diminished, understanding the scoring system and its implications remains valuable for students preparing for the SAT. By familiarizing themselves with the scoring dimensions, score distributions, and college perspectives, students can approach the essay with confidence and maximize their performance.

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