<p>I have no quarrel with the SAT IIs, including writing. However, I think bringing a very short essay into the SAT I Writing test is ill conceived, primarily because of the format of the test. In addition, there’s no evidence yet, obviously, that the SAT I writing scores correlate with anything - it’s a different test than the SAT II Writing, and it will have a very different set of test-takers. </p>
<p>Even if freshman GPA is the thing that you want to predict, finding out how well the Writing section of the SAT I does will take years. Why not keep the SAT II Writing instead? Require it if you want to. </p>
<p>I took the SATs in 1971, and I don’t remember any writing at all, so that section must have been dropped by then.</p>