For two years, college applicants have had to complete a writing section on the SAT, but Brown and other universities are still reserving judgement on how much the section actually tells them, and it remains a relatively minor component of a student's application, admission officials say.
"I think we're all still waiting to see how valid of a credential it is and how it compares to performance in the classroom," said Dean of Admission Jim Miller '73.
"We haven't yet given it the same credence we give other credentials with which we're more familiar, like the standard SATs and the (Advanced Placement) scores and the subject tests," Miller said.
Miller noted that SAT writing scores have been used as a factor since the implementation of the writing section in 2005. Previously, Brown required that applicants complete the SAT Subject Test in writing. Miller said he hopes the writing section will prove to be a useful predictor of how applicants would perform in college, but he said there is no clear evidence for that yet.
Nancy Viggiano, a spokeswoman for the College Board, which administers the SAT, said colleges should wait and see how the writing section plays out.
"The SAT writing section is new and scores should be fully evaluated before they are used for making any kind of high-stakes decision," she wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.
Viggiano wrote that colleges should collect the writing scores of their matriculating students and their grades in first-year English composition courses and first-year grade point averages to determine how valid a predictor the SAT writing section is.
The College Board created the SAT writing section two years ago to test students' knowledge of "grammar, usage and word choice," Viggiano wrote. Its two components are a 35-minute multiple choice section and a 25-minute short essay.
The multiple choice section requires students to identify grammatical errors and improve sentences, while the short essay asks students to articulate their opinions on an issue using examples drawn from past readings as well as their personal experiences and observations. The essays are graded on organization, grammar, clarity and the development and support of the thesis statement.
Ben Xiong '11 said he wasn't concerned with the writing section "because all the colleges said they wouldn't count it since it was new."
Miller said both the University's required open-ended admission essay and the SAT writing section are of value to the Office of Admission.
"Application essays are thoughtful," he said. "Students have time to write them and the opportunity to proofread them and have them proofread."
On the other hand, he said, the writing section of the SAT is "an unvarnished look at people's writing ability."
Miller said both types of writing are relevant to predicting an applicant's potential success at a university. "Writing in college happens in a variety of environments," he said. "There are extended paper topics as well as exam writing."
Stephen Hebson, a senior at Falmouth High School in Maine who recently visited Brown, said he had been told that the writing section was "the least important of the three sections" in the eyes of colleges.
Hebson plans to apply to Brown this year.
"I'd rank it the least important," agreed Amita Maram, a senior at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South Campus in New Jersey who plans to apply early decision to Brown this fall.
Maram said her perception was that the "essay graders pay more attention to content and examples than writing ability and form."
She also characterized the mechanics of written language that form the basis of the multiple choice section as "really technical things" that are subordinate to the abilities tested by the other sections, such as critical reading.
Miller emphasized that SAT scores only play one role within the larger context of a student's application. "What we want to do is always put them in proper perspective," he said. "The SATs are a piece of what we look at. ... They're not the end all, be all."
"We will continue to use standardized tests, but we will make sure they are used properly," Miller added.